New Roommates
by HalcyonicStorm
Summary: [AU]Squall has always lived alone. What happens when three women suddenly become his new roommates? What is he to do?[Quall, Squinoa, Squelphie] UPDATE AHOY!
1. New Roommates

It was a new day, and the sun was shining in recognition of that. The sky was blue and a certain blonde wasn't even realizing it. She was snoring lightly, but enough to warrant a certain brunette's attention.

"Wake UP super-sleepyhead!" the brunette's voice yelled out, before smacking the snoozing woman over the head with a rather lumpy pillow.

"Wake up or we'll never be able to get to the new apartment in time!" she shouted, rousing the woman from a blissful sleep.

"It's finally my day off and now you two finally decide that its time to move. Both of you change your minds more than you change clothes in one day!" The blonde retorted, flipping her feet over the side of the bed, finding that her feet met the floor sooner than expected.

"Why is bed so low?" she looked around, finding that everything she had already in a large pile of boxes right outside her door.

"Well…" a raven haired started, leaning on the frame of the bathroom, "we knew it was your day off, so we decided to pack everything for you ahead of time, so you wouldn't have to worry about it. So don't!"

Quistis just stared at her two roommates for a minute. Her friends had packed everything for her. She glanced around the room again, seeing that everything _was_ packed, except for her toiletries and a set of clothes hanging in the empty closet. Even her furniture was packed! With the exception of her bed, which now lay flat on the ground.

She decided that she would get cleaned up, get changed, _then_ yell at her so-called friends for doing everything for her without her knowing, then thank them afterwards.

'Yeah. That sounds like a plan.' She thought to herself, with Rinoa and Selphie looking on like she was on something. That might have been because she had a slight smirk on her face as she waltzed off to the bathroom, lightly pushing Rinoa the rest of the way out, but not before grabbing her clothes (what's not packed up) from the sparse closet.

When she was finished with her morning rituals, she stepped out dressed in a loose pair of jeans and a light pink shirt. She went to the closet and threw her shoes on, and proceeded into the living room.

There wasn't much to look at. Everything was thoroughly packed like her friends had said. All of the furniture was left where it was, although nothing inhabited the shelves and nothing was left in the cupboards and nothing was scattered about as usual. She was surprised her friends could even clean up this nicely.

"We already did everything and we are ready to go as soon as you are! Tee-hee!" Selphie replied in her normal, bubbly, energetic, and happy manner. Quistis was always perplexed by her friend's constant energy and happy attitude.

"And the moving company is already here and is awaiting permission from the Boss!" Rinoa chimed in, giving a mock salute. Rinoa was a kind person, and can be equally energetic as her brunette counterpart. And both were on the prowl for the right kind of guy.

Quistis was also on the lookout for a person who would be that guy for her. Even though she worked long hours and hardly ever got time to herself, she still felt she needed someone. But who know when that would happen.

But other than that, the three women were the best of friends and would always be there for each other. Whether it is fashion, social time, plain out boredom, guys, or all of the above (Which was rare in most occasions).

Once Quistis was satisfied with the work her roommates had done while she was asleep, she turned around and gave them a gratified smile. "Well then, let's get to that apartment before traffic hits up!"

A few hours later, after a long-ass road trip, according to Rinoa, and a lot of bathroom breaks, thanks to Selphie, they had finally reached their new apartment in the downtown part of Deling. They all took a moment to stare at the new building they would be living in. It was a dark, but clean building, and it held a certain air about it. It was as if someone important and flashy lived here.

"Well, let's go see this apartment!" Selphie pleaded.

"We can't just walk in without any notice!" Quistis quickly stammered out. Rinoa looked on with puppy dog eyes. She just turned away before she could cave in.

"I am not going to-" she never got to finish her sentence before the two flashed right in front of her, Selphie now joining in with a pout. Quistis steeled herself.

'Must…not…give…in…' she willed. The two only increased their looks and moved their faces wherever Quistis tried to avoid them.

But to no avail. She caved when she got a second glance at their faces. Who could resist?

She knew she was going to regret this. "…Alright…Let's go."

"YAY!" the two jumped quickly and headed for the door, but only returned to drag a lethargic Quistis at top speed. They had reached the large cargo elevator that served as the means to reach the different floors of the building. It seemed big enough to hold a car.

"I wonder what it's gonna be like? Is there gonna be enough space for all of us?" Rinoa wondered aloud.

Quistis was wondering along the same lines, but stopped thinking when she tried to remember which floor the apartment was on. Selphie seemed to pick up on this when she saw Quistis' face set in thought.

"Number four!" she said in a sing-song voice.

'Ah. Right.' She pressed the number four button and the elevator gave a sudden jerk as it worked its way up.

The three women were each wondering what the place was like until it stopped suddenly, signifying their destination had been reached. They each pulled up the wooden door that was in front of them, then stepped out into a cavernous apartment. Correction: loft.

It was huge, the entire floor was nothing but space. But there was one hitch; there was already stuff lying around here and there. A plush black leather sofa dominated the central area of loft, making a big 'U' shape around a FAT plasma screen TV.

There was a kitchen-type bar right behind, huge double sink in the middle and cupboards all along the wall. All of walls were a rough brick, but was admonished by the black that was all of the furniture. Well if not black then a steely gray.

It was then that all the women heard a strange noise coming from their right. Off to their right, they saw nothing but a door, and something was moving behind it. The three just looked at each other in fear; fear of accidentally walking in on someone else's apartment.

The door opened and all three women suddenly took a _very_ deep breath. A young man, looking no older than eighteen, walked out of a steamy bathroom, having nothing but towel around his waist. He held onto it with one hand while he used the other to close the door and run it through his brown wet hair. He started walking until he felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, signifying someone was watching him. He looked out to his right, outside the window, trying to see if anyone was spying on him from another apartment. Satisfied that no one was looking, he shrugged, until he heard a shuffle from his left.

Three women were standing in front of the elevator, staring at him. He just stood there with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. His icy blue eyes looking over the three statuesque intruders. His eyes ran over warm coffee brown eyes, to equally ice blue eyes, to an energetic set of green eyes.

It was at that moment that Squall Leonhart had met his three new roommates.

A/N: This is new story...obviously. The pairings depend on who says what. So drop in reviews and tell me who you all think should be the one to snag Squall. Until i find out, this story is gonna be a little blan. SO DROP THOSE REVIEWS! 


	2. Hell Hath No Fury

A/N: Beware! Rampant imaginations have been set free! Cover your virgin eyes!

Hell Hath no Fury…

Four sets of eyes. One set concentrating on three, trying to figure out why the other three were even in the same room as he without invitation. The other three not wondering about anything, other than the fact that they were turning beet red and they were going to die of a heart attack from seeing their new roommate. A hot and very wet roommate.

Squall kept looking back and forth between the three new arrivals, suddenly realizing the object of their interest; him. He suddenly felt like he was on display. He turned away from the three, walking briskly away from the encounter point, but didn't make more than one step. It was because he had started walking with both hands, and since it was with both hands, nothing was holding his towel up.

He only made one step when he realized his tragic mistake. He felt the towel begin to fall, but saved it, and his pride, by grabbing onto the edge that fell, but the towel was already half off, and showing a rather…firm side of him. He pulled the towel back up rather quickly when he heard three very distinctive gasps, and one thump, but didn't bother to turn around as he was now jogging up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door roughly.

Squall had never been so embarrassed, and so exposed, in his entire life.

&&&

From where Rinoa, Quistis, and Selphie were standing, an angel had shown itself, a LOT of itself, and had run away as fast as it came.

When they saw that towel fall, it was in slow motion for the three astonished women. It was enough to see one the hottest guys on Hyne's green earth, but to see him come fresh out a shower, lock eyes onto the three of them, stare, and to have his towel fall off at such a time, and run away with slight hue to his face, was a blessing reserved for Hyne herself.

When they all heard that door close, their imaginations were set loose, running rampant throughout their minds, conjuring up as many scenarios as possible, each alone, and each woman with her own favorite.

Rinoa was staring at the ground, cheeks flushed, mind wild. She was imagining the towel falling completely off, the man not bothering to pick it up. He grabbed her by the waist and placed her upon the kitchen counter, suddenly kissing her, doing things that involved a lot of crashing plates and bowls…She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, hugging herself and swaying lightly from side to side. It was needless to say what went on from there.

Quistis kept staring at the spot where the guy was situated, looking at the puddle that had accumulated when he was frozen in time. She kept staring at the small lake, her mind wandering to the bathroom. She imagined herself in the shower, taking her time, until she heard the door swing open. The man walked in, tugging his towel off and making his way into the shower with her. She knew she would never get clean this way…She closed her eyes as well, letting her head drift back and slowly swing around, her mind playing out her fantasy.

Selphie had fallen onto her bum after seeing the guy's towel come off halfway. She had died and gone to Heaven and fell back down to Earth in one go. She looked at the door that was slammed so forcefully, imagining what was going on behind it. She saw the man come back out, still towel clad, coming down the stairs, walking slowly until he stopped in front of her and grabbed her hand. He pulled her up the stairs with him and through the open door. Selphie let herself fall back onto the floor, closing her eyes and letting her mind run rampant like the other two women.

None bothered to notice the elevator work its way back down and back up again, this time with two young men chatting amiably about something. They pulled up the guardrail and walked in.

One was wearing some baggy jeans and a tight black shirt that showed off his muscular features, even if he was short, he was still fit. His hair was spiked up at the front, and a tribal tattoo along the side of his face, making his light blue eyes stand out.

The other was wearing a long brown duster, with a deep violet shirt that matched his eyes, and brown tight pants that matched his duster. Although his hat was certainly a darker brown and covered his long auburn colored hair.

They became silent as they saw three strange looking women standing around a short distance from the bathroom. The two men looked at each other, and found a silent agreement as they walked like cats around the three. It was noticeable that they were 'thinking' about something when all of their eyes were closed.

They noticed that one was swaying slightly, smiling like there was no tomorrow. The one next to her had her head back, swinging it slowly around and licking her lips. The one on the floor was more interesting, seeing as how she was completely flat and slowly wrapping her arms around herself.

Zell just looked between the three, turned to Irvine, shrugging heavily, confused look on his face. Irvine just smiled knowingly, knowing _exactly_ what was going through their heads. He looked to Zell, who looked like he had been stuck on a question in a quiz.

He gestured his head back and slightly down. Zell looked in that direction and saw a small puddle of water. There were drying tracks leading from the bathroom.

He was still confused.

Irvine saw this and just sighed inwardly. He pointed to the bathroom, then back at the room at the top of the stairs. He then made a walking motion with his hands, motioning to the bathroom. He then acted out a little shower, and wrapping of a towel. Then more walking motions. This time pointing to the three, preoccupied women. He then made a walking motion coming from the bathroom, freezing it in place, while his other hand motioned to the women again. He then held his hands out, trying to get an understanding out of the blonde.

Zell nodded slowly, suddenly letting it dawn on him. "I still don't get it." He whispered.

Irvine just sighed again, placing his hand on his face and rubbing it. He placed his other hand on Zell's shoulder and shook his head. Irvine suddenly opened his uncovered eye. He had a Cheshire cat-ish smile on his face. He turned to Zell and whispered in his ear, careful not to disturb the three fantasizing women.

Zell smiled just like Irvine. They both faced the three women. At that time the door to Squall's room opened quietly. Squall walked out and noticed the two plotting men. He raised his eyebrow in suspicion, but it and his small gesture went unnoticed as the two men walked stealthily behind the three and to the kitchen sink. Squall knew what was going to happen next, so he just placed his fingers in his ears and closed his eyes as tightly as he could.

Irvine had one hose from one side of the sink, while Zell had the other from the other side. They looked at each other and nodded, they pointed the hoses at the three daydreamers. Squall opened one eye at the wrong time only to close it just as fast.

&&&

Three shrill cries were heard throughout the entire downtown area. People from neighboring buildings looked out their windows and in the direction of the screams. Those down below on the sidewalks and those driving in cars suddenly looked up at a dark apartment building from where they thought the screams came from. Little did they know as to why screams like that would be heard around the city.

&&&

Rinoa, Quistis, and a now standing Selphie were looking with shock written across all of their faces. They looked to one another, trying to figure out what the hell had happened and why they were soaking wet.

They were all in the middle of their daytime fantasies about a certain young man when it became cold and wet as hell. They glared at the spot where the towel-clad hottie had been, then up the stairs. They saw him standing there dressed in black leather pants and white shirt. He had his arms crossed and an emotionless expression on his face. He gestured with his elbow towards the kitchen area. The three women looked.

They saw two men, one looking like a cowboy, the other like a muscle man, both laughing like hyenas and leaning on each other for support. They were holding onto their sides trying to ease the pain of laughter. Their faces became cast as they saw the three harpies glare at them. Not women, harpies. Sharp claws and all.

Zell and Irvine realized they had forgotten something. After every prank done on a woman…run like hell. They looked at each other for a second, thought, and said in unison, "Run."

And ran they did.

They bolted across the bottom floor running like gazelles being chased by a cheetah, just no speed or coordination.

Rinoa, Quistis, and Selphie each sped after the two culprits, ill intentions on their minds. They would pay dearly for interrupting their fantasies. Even if they were _somewhat_ erotic. Well maybe not somewhat, but they would still pay with their lives.

Zell and Irvine split up, each going a different direction in the massive loft. Rinoa and Selphie going after Zell, Quistis going after Irvine alone. The tow guys ducked, dodged, and dove like they were in Vietnam and they were intent on escaping it. What guy wouldn't run away from a peeved woman who had Hell's intentions on her mind after disturbing one of her greatest fantasies?

Squall was still standing at the top of the stairs, holding his hand on his forehead. He knew he should have stopped them, but they needed to be put in their place once in a while, if not once a month.

He sighed and walked down the stairs, careful to dodge flying pillows and vases. As long as they didn't rip anything that was leather furniture-wise, they could cause as much destruction as they wanted. He needed to redo the loft anyways. In the distance he heard a muffled cry and something shattering. He then saw Zell running behind him, two of the women in hot pursuit. He moved himself in slightly to avoid being clipped.

He found his way to the kitchen, replaced to two hoses, the two weapons of mass disturbance, and found a banana lying in wooden bowl. As soon as he lifted the bowl, Irvine came running by, he snatched it and used it as a helmet to prevent any brain damage. The blonde woman came running through with a vase in one hand and a small glass statue in the other, intent on using both to do some 're-education'.

Squall peeled back the banana and began eating in peace during the middle of a war in his loft. A war between roommates and old friends. He walked over to the center of the sofa in front and popped a squat. He kept eating his banana, searching for the remote. He looked from side to side, until it flew above his head.

He looked in the direction it flew. It hit Zell on the head, who had a spaghetti strainer on, and was still running. Apparently one of the women had found the huge bag of marbles Zell had forgotten one day and began pelting him.

He saw the raven-haired woman pick up the remote and throw it through the air, but Squall sat up and grabbed it mid-flight. If that remote broke and he had to get up to change channels on that huge-ass television, he would be the weapon to destroy them all and end this little war.

He started to flip through the channels, trying to find something worth watching for a change. '_Over 700 channels and nothing to watch. Why did I even bother getting this?_'

He kept flipping through channels, finding odd tidbits like building bridges and whatnot. He even found a channel that described the habits off Malboros when they weren't breathing on you, or eating you for that matter.

He kept searching until he heard someone scream out in pain. He looked around until he saw Irvine running around, stumbling into things and not looking too coherent. Squall then saw the blonde woman run up behind him and use the rest of the glass statue on his head. Apparently the wooden bowl didn't give much help.

Squall looked on in wonder. '_I actually liked that statue, it was kinda nice to have around._'

Irvine just grinned like an idiot until he shook his head quickly. He regained his composure and resumed his running when he saw the blonde holding a hammer.

Squall looked around for Zell until he saw him come around a corner and fall like an idiot after slipping on marbles scattered all over the floor. He groaned in pain and got up quickly before bolting away again, strainer and all. He saw the other two women still chasing him, the dark haired woman holding a nail gun, the smaller one having a sledgehammer. '_It looks like they found my tool closet._'

Squall got up quickly and stood in front of the two women, stopping them in their tracks. They looked on, stunned that he would help his friend after what he did. He grabbed the two tools, put them off to the side, and grabbed two heavy frying pans off of the clips above the kitchen counter. He gave them each one pan, then moved back to his seat on the couch.

"SQUALL!" Zell screamed before taking off, clutching onto the strainer for dear life. The two women tore off after him again, intent on making scrambled eggs out of his brain.

Squall resumed flipping through channels, until he heard his cell phone ringing, but it sounded muffled. He got up and began to search for it, looking under the couch pillows and cushions. Well, what was left off them. He kept digging around until he heard it beep off, telling him he missed the caller, but got a message instead. That's when he heard it.

Squall turned around fast and saw a knife fly through the air, landing in the wooden drink tray that Irvine was holding up for a shield. '_I guess it's true…Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn. Or in this case, knife throwing skills and general pissy-ness._'

Squall turned back around and resumed his channel surfing, pausing only to look at how much had to replaced, and to see if anyone needed to go to the hospital yet. He looked off to the side and saw a bag of cheese puffs lying there, unopened. He grabbed it and began to chow down. All the action that was going on around him was making him hungry.

&&&

After four hours of chasing, dodging, diving, shielding, pelting, slamming, and knife-throwing, the five exhausted people came to a rest in the living room, the only unscathed place in the loft. Everything else was ruined or destroyed, scattered about like the stars above.

Squall was still surfing the channels, eating what was left of the cheese puffs. He had gone through the whole thing ten times and found nothing of interest, so he had settled on watching the animal planet. He was watching something about chocobos. He wasn't really interested though, he was watching his two friends and three roommates pant and heave, severely exhausted from chasing and being chased. The girls being on one side, guys on the other, with Squall in the middle.

&&&

Rinoa's hair was plastered about her face, her clothes covered in plastered from where she had used the pan on a part of drywall. Selphie was the same way, except her hair was flat on one side and curved up on the other. Quistis' hair was mostly out of her clip, looking just as worn as the others, and her pants were torn in some places, probably from a couple of wall corners.

Zell and Irvine weren't as lucky as the three maidens from Hell.

Zell's shirt was torn in many places, showing off the many bruises he had gotten from the flying marbles of doom. He also had an ice bag on his head, thanks to Irvine who had gotten it for him, due to the fact that Squall had replaced the construction tools with cooking utensils, _heavy_ cooking utensils.

Irvine was more or less the same way; ice bag on his head, and violet shirt ripped in some places. His hat reflected how hard Quistis had nailed him on the head. He also held his left arm, because that was where she had used the hammer on him.

Squall just looked back and forth from the girls to the guys, amused look on his face. He turned back to the tv, small smile beginning to form on his face.

Everyone was relaxing, nursing their wounds, or watching tv when they heard him.

A soft chuckle, being stifled by a hand. Everyone looked at Squall, who had his hand over his mouth, holding it tightly. He saw everyone and took his hand down, serious look on his face. They all began to watch the tv again. Then they heard it again.

They looked back at Squall who had a small smile forming on his visage. It didn't last long though as it grew across his face, teeth showing brightly. He then looked down, trying to hold in his laughter, but to no avail. He burst out laughing, shocking the others.

Irvine and Zell looked to each other, then back at Squall who was holding his sides, lying sideways on the couch. Then they looked to the women sitting across from them. They had the same bewildered looks on their faces, looking to one another for the reason behind the silent man's temporary insanity.

It dawned on them all.

They each began laughing lightly, each understanding the hilarity in it all, until they all started laughing hysterically.

For four fours, the women chased the guys, while one just sat out, trying to find something remotely interesting on the massive television screen. Various tools and weapons were used, even if they were meant to make food and decorations.

Everything was a mess, looking like a hurricane had spawned a million tornadoes and had wreaked havoc on the enormous loft. Chunks of wall were missing, marbles were scattered about on the floor, along with pieces of glass and pottery.

When Squall regained his body from laughing so hard, he sat up and wiped his face of tears from laughing so much. He saw the other's laughing beginning to subside, and replaced his face with his ordinary look.

"So…" he began as everyone started to settle down, "who's going to be cleaning this mess?"

Everything suddenly became quiet.

A/N: Well, first meetings are the most memorable in most relationships, right? So why not make this one memorable? Things are going smoothly with the relationship poll, seeing as how most people are leaning towards a Quall, although a Squinoa is still fighting back, but Squelphies are coming up short. Come on people! Keep those reviews coming in! And keep voting on who gets the lone wolf Squall! Now…R&R!

I'm due for shoutouts! This is for Chapter ONE!

Thorn Willowfly: I'm glad you're my first reviewer! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy stuffs! Heehee! Thanks!

Cailin: Yeah, I see what you mean. I hadn't actually intended for it, but it came out. I'm a little partial to Qualls, but I'm gonna be impartial this time around and let the readers decide who gets him. Thanks for the review! ;P

Maat: In a sort of way they are, and I think Squall does have a chance with Selphie or Rinoa, but I'm still gonna let the readers take over that department. And there is no need to hide. I'm gonna pound anyone who harms my readers! Quall-lovers or not! My readers are important to me! Thank you! Heehee!

Zero Touma: Heehee! I like them too. TY!

Luis: Yeah they are in a sense, and the voting is still going on!

ME: Yes you! And even though Squalphies are coming up short, don't give up! People are bound to realize what a good couple Squall and Selphie are. And I'm remaining impartial to the story until the vote is over, which reminds me…thank you!

Magical Girl Pretty Sammy-Chan: I noticed when I read one of your stories. I forgot which one but stories like yours are my inspiration for writing. I always like romantic thingys, gives me the warm fuzzy feeling all over. Heehee! I'm gonna try to make it 3rd person from anyone's view. So keep a close eye out! TY!

Platonic1: TY! Yay!

Lucentia: TY! Are you a Quall-lover? Lol!

Ruby-Weapon: TY, I thought that was a good part too, but we have to let the votes decide for #3.

RaineValentine: YAY! Don't stop reading just cuz it might not be a Quall. It'll be a good story all around, so stay put and keep reading! I'm nothing w/o my readers! WAH! Oh well. Heehee! TY!

Enigma-chan: I know what you mean! Haha! TY!

Bluey booze: TY! Every story has to start somewhere eh? Did I mention TY?

Yuuhiuzumaki narukure: We have to let the votes decide! So get your friends into it too!

Spring's Rose: TY! Haven't had anyone say that before, so thank you very much! I am soooo gonna continue this.

Robinsonss: YAY! Another vote! Keep it coming!

Amy1993882002: YAY! More votes!


	3. Cooking and Realizations

Cooking and Realizations

The sun had set, leaving three young men cleaning around a loft that looked like a tempest had gotten a hold of. Even if it was the women that caused ninety percent of the damage around the loft, it was the men, well two of them, who had started the entire thing, and it was they who had thought they could get away with it.

The three women were downstairs instructing the stranded moving men where the furniture should be moved. Since the loft was already furnished, they instructed the men to take a majority of the stuff to a storage space, while leaving the bedroom stuff to be hauled up. And since the moving men had left, the women were left doing the hauling.

"Tell me again why we didn't have those guys just leave everything here?" Rinoa whined from one side of a bed.

"Because we would have to be hauling stuff up and down all the way till midnight, and we would still have half of our apartment sitting on the front curb." Quistis called back from the other side of the full-size mattress. They paused halfway up the stairs, seeing as how lifting heavy objects and walking up stairs don't mix well, and that the elevator had a certain weight restriction seeing as how it was older than any of them.

Both dropped the mattress and leaned up against the wall, resting their tired arms. _'Women aren't meant to do this kinda work!'_ Quistis thought to herself, wiping the sweat off her brow.

'_Aren't the guys supposed to be doing this kinda stuff?'_ thought an equally sweaty Rinoa.

Both of the women were tired not only from hauling their stuff from the bottom floor to the fourth floor, they had also chased two men they didn't even know around a loft for four straight hours. The women were remembering what they had learned about their roommate and his friends.

The three women talked to Irvine, the man Quistis was chasing around with a hammer, the one that looked like a cowboy, and found out not only his name, but that he was a tad bit obsessed with western things, obviously, but was also an…eccentric kind of man when it came to women. He never stayed glued to one for too long, afraid of the clinginess that accompanied it, but he didn't mind the contact part of it.

They also found out about Zell and how he was a constant competitor in the kickboxing matches that were held around the world. They didn't believe the part that he was the most experienced fighter in the entire world. Zell was a little admonished at this, but still managed to talk and laugh around. He was a homebody kind of person, and preferred to keep to himself about his love life.

But they never found out much of what Squall was like. He was quiet most of the time, and always seemed to be deep in thought. His face held a constant scowl, and the glare his blue eyes gave could put the mountains of Trabia to shame. When the girls tried getting him to talk, they either got a 'whatever' or a simple stare accompanied with silence.

The women decided not to pursue the line of questioning that dealt with his personal life.

When Quistis and Rinoa were still thinking about today's sudden turn of events, Selphie came bounding up the stairs, bags in both hands and her mouth, look of determination written across her face. She flew past the two weary women, giving them a brief smile before that look came on her face again, and she started taking the steps two at a time.

"Where does she get all that energy?" both chimed at the same time. They looked at each other before laughing about their hyperactive friend.

"Let's get this up there and then we're done with the heavy stuff." Quistis said, sighing before lifting her end of the bed.

"Yes! Thank Hyne! Then we relax!" Rinoa exclaimed, giddy at the thought of having to rest on her bed in the new apartment/loft.

They both lifted with a renewed energy and resolve and quickly climbed the last few flights of stairs. Quistis opened the door and resumed her position lifting the mattress, and made their way to the door that held their part of the loft. It was right below Squall's, and was quite nice. It was about the size of a single wide, and each girl had her own room. The only downside was no bathroom. That was located across the living room and past open windows. Not good for modesty.

When they got the bed to Quistis' room, they both flopped it down onto the wooden frame, and collapsed. They looked at the ceiling, wondering about the enigma that was Squall. Everything, save the items that belonged to the women, was his. As far as they knew, he had no job, and yet he still managed to get this much stuff for this loft. And where did he get the money to even afford this place? The entire place took up one whole floor.

'_I guess it's another thing to chalk up on the list of things that deal the mystery of Squall, resident roommate and hottie.'_ Rinoa thought. She looked off at Quistis, who had her eyes closed and was resting easily, as easily as you can when sweating like a pig.

She rolled off the bed, walking out and to her room, seeing nothing but boxes and bags everywhere. She proceeded to unpack her things when she heard a crash come from above her. Wondering what it was, she ran up, Quistis following close behind. When they climbed the stairs that led to Squall's room, they suddenly stopped, seeing Squall open the door, rubbing his head. Under his arm was a basketball, and he was looking ready to use it.

"Zell!" He screamed, completely ignoring the two women in front of him. Zell came out, dustpan and broom in hand, full of crap from around the loft. Squall threw the ball at him, nailing him in the gut. Zell grabbed the ball in his gut, dropping the broom and pan, gasping for air.

"Thanks Squall." Zell wheezed, still trying to get his breath back. He walked away slowly leaving the cleaning things behind.

Squall just looked at him before turning to back into his room and noticing the two women looking at him. "What?"

He just looked at them, expecting them to say something, but instead they were just staring at him. After a couple of minutes just standing there, he just walked in again closing the door a little harsher than he had intended.

They looked at the door and then at each other, shrugging. They walked back down the stairs and back into their new rooms, intent on having their rooms set up at least by midnight.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Squall walked over to his bed, two gunblades resting on stands above him on a shelf. One was his first gunblade, the Revolver, the other was his best, the Lionheart. He lay flat on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. It wasn't like most ceilings.

This ceiling was made in Esthar, courtesy of his father. During the day, it would remain solid like an ordinary ceiling. But when the sun was beginning to set, the ceiling would slowly become transparent, allowing a person to look freely at the stars.

He looked past what was left of ceiling to see the first star of the evening. But he wasn't thinking about first stars. It was rather more of three women that had become his roommates. He knew they would be coming thanks to fair warning from Seifer, but he didn't expect them to come at such a time. Especially his shower time.

He made a mental note to slap his best friend upside the head when he came to town again.

He got up and went to his little bookcase to look for something to get his mind off of those women. Feeling a little frustrated that he had read everything at least five times, he went out and down the stairs, hoping to raid the fridge and see what he could make.

To an ordinary person, there would be nothing ready to eat, but if you were Squall, you could come up with something easily, you just had to be patient.

He found some pasta sauce sitting on the door, and found some meat sitting on the bottom shelf. He quickly closed the fridge and opened one of the cabinets above beside. He found what he was looking for; a box of linguine.

When he got the necessary items, he started cooking, intent on getting his mind off the new arrivals. But every time he did so, it always came back to them. Not so much the brunette, (Selphie was it?) seeing as how Irvine was giving those looks again, but to the other two.

'_What was their names? Quistis and Rinoa?'_ he thought, trying to remember exactly who was who. He kept thinking, absentmindedly stirring the sauce on the stove. It wasn't so much that they looked good, it was just the look in their eyes that got him thinking. Rinoa's eyes were full of warmth and care, like those that would be there to comfort you all the time. But with Quistis' eyes they held an understanding, like she knew what you had gone through and was there to help you no matter what.

He was too busy thinking about those two that he hadn't noticed Zell and Irvine trying to sneak out of loft, heading to the stairs.

"Where do you to think you're going?" Selphie squealed, holding a box full of yellow things. Squall didn't want to know where she had gotten all that yellow stuff.

Both men cringed, realizing they had forgotten someone. Squall looked over at the two, raising an eyebrow. He didn't need to say anything when his facial gesture spoke clearly enough. Both men saw this, and hung their heads, returning to cleaning the loft. Squall just looked back over at Selphie and nodded, Selphie giving a smile and sticking out her tongue. She then trotted over to her door and kicked it open, disappearing from view.

Squall took the cooked linguine from the pot and placed it over the strainer, draining out the steaming water. When he turned around to place the pot on stove again, he almost dropped it. Everyone was leaning on the counter next to the stove, watching him intently. He didn't have to read their minds to know what they wanted.

He looked over Selphie, Quistis and Rinoa, then at Zell and Irvine. He walked over to the stove and put the pot down, taking the other pot and mixing the sauce with the linguine. Once he was finished, he took the pot and placed it in the sink, soaking it in some water, then grabbed a plate from a cabinet. He served himself and went over to the couch sitting in the middle as usual.

Everyone was still staring at his back, when he gave a wave of his hand.

Selphie ran around the side, going shoulder to shoulder with Irvine who had ran around the other side. They were shoving each other when Quistis pushed in between the two.

"Ladies first, Irvine." Emphasizing his name. She pushed him over along with Zell who cried out at Irvine's sudden push.

"What! No hotdog in this thing?" Everyone looked at Zell incredulously, wondering why anyone would want hotdog in their pasta. Squall just put his fork down and put his hand on his forehead. He pulled his hand down and reached for remote next to him, trying to find something that would take his attention away from his roommates. He found a movie that was just starting. He looked at the title. It said, 'Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children' He wondered what that would be like.

When everyone had finished serving themselves, they each found a spot on the large couch. They were mixed up this time, with Selphie sitting near Irvine, while Zell sat on one side, with Rinoa on his side, and Quistis near Squall.

While they were watching the movie, Squall glanced over to Quistis who was wrapped up in the fight that was taking place. He noticed her features, noting that they were one that belonged to a fashion model from Heaven. Her blonde hair framed her face perfectly, letting her blue eyes stand out.

Quistis felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, telling her she was being watched. She looked to her side to see Squall's gaze return to the television. She felt a warmth spread to her cheeks and turned slightly away, trying to make sure she wasn't seen by him.

Squall mentally berated himself for being so obvious like that. He never openly checked women out, he just did it when no one was looking. He took a quick glance at Quistis who had turned away slightly, but was still watching the tv. He looked slightly away to see Rinoa watching the fight scene too.

He saw at how well her face was featured. Light skin, and soft brown eyes. Her black hair had a couple of brown highlights in the front, making her eyes stand out and framing her face nicely. He thought she was suitable enough to be an angel from Heaven.

'_Wait a tick…Since when do I say that two out of three of my roommates look like angels from Heaven? I must be losing it.'_ Squall quickly shook his head, trying to rid himself of his thoughts on the two women. Rinoa noticed this and looked at Squall questioningly. He only took a quick second glance before super-gluing his eyes to the tv for the remainder of the night. Rinoa shrugged and looked back at the tv, a slight pink hue come to her cheeks.

'_Why in the Hell am I even thinking about those two? Wait. Why two? Why can't it be one? If it's two…Hyne save me.'_ Squall placed his hand on his forehead and sighed, getting everyone's attention. He didn't care if they saw him, he knew he was already in a world of trouble. He wished Seifer were here to help him out a little.

A/N: Well…Iknow it was lax on the humor on this one, but be patient! And it looks like the pairings have come out, but only one problem; the votes were tied! Yes TIED! It was between Quall and Squinoa. Crazy I know, and a little disappointing because now its going to be a little triangle between the three. I don't know how to choose between the two, but we can let Seifer take a shot at the two. Maybe he would know what to do. Heeheehee!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


	4. Unexpected Surprises

Unexpected Surprises

Two Weeks Later

- - - - - - - - - -

_Knock knock knock._ The light taps on Squall's door barely fazed the sleeping resident. He merely shuffled in his bed to find a more comfortable position underneath his pillow.

_Knock._

_Knock._

_Knock._

Squall groaned at the door, still not getting up from underneath his covers. As warm as the fall was, he still slept with a blanket over him. The knocking stopped, until he his doorknob beginning to wriggle like someone was playing with it. Only one person knew how to get his door open…

"Almasy Annoyment and Sarcasm Services at your service, Mr. Leonhart!" Seifer chimed. He was clad in blue jeans and long sleeve black shirt, a red cross on his left and right arms.

The young blonde man snickered at seeing his best friend still lying underneath the covers.

A smirk slowly crept over his face. He grabbed the edge of the blanket between his thumb and forefinger and gave it a yank, revealing a pair of black chocobo-covered boxer shorts on a cringing Squall.

"…" Squall gave his best glare possible; as possible as it was when you were discovered in your chocobo boxers and had just been waken up.

"Chocobos?" Seifer managed to get out before laughing out loud, holding on to a nearby chair.

"Shut up."

Squall sat up and threw his legs over the side of his bed, grabbing the pair of sweatpants and putting them on quickly to avoid anymore embarrassment. He walked over to Seifer, who was now sitting in the chair, laughing like a hyena. He grabbed the blanket and threw it back onto the bed before walking out the door and in the direction of the bathroom.

But as awake as he was, his senses were still groggy. So he didn't hear the shower already running.

Seifer came out of the room holding his side, laughing subsiding slowly. He saw Squall walking to the bathroom, scratching the back of his head and yawning.

"You might wanna---"

Squall opened the door three words too late.

- - - - - - - - - -

An ear-piercing scream was heard throughout the entire building, waking up two young women in the middle of some very nice dreams. Two doors opened at the same time, both revealing a pajama-clad Rinoa and blanket-covered Quistis, both looking down the hallway, in the direction of the scream. They looked at each other before trekking out the door and seeing a very flushed Squall.

He stood on the outside of the bathroom door, face beet red and breathing rapidly. His hand was clenched tightly around the doorknob, knuckles turning white.

Above them, they saw a young man, about the same age as Squall, lying down on the floor, laughing like he had seen the stupidest act on Earth. Unknown to them…he had.

He was laughing, holding his sides and rolling around on the stairs. Squall looked up at him and looked at him with a glare that would send a Ruby Dragon packing for the Deep Sea Deposit. Seifer looked up, tears in his green eyes, not even fazed by the icy glare. He shook his head slowly, laughing ceasing slowly.

"I was gonna tell you to knock, but I guess you didn't wanna listen." He said, smile still evident on his face. He kept on smiling, completely unaware of the two women that were down below him, watching him, and trying to figure out who the hell he was and what he was doing here.

"What the hell is going on?" Quistis asked, making Seifer jump a good three feet into the air and onto his feet.

Seifer was holding his chest, feigning a heart attack. "Where in the Hell did you come from?"

Quistis looked up and gave him a glare equal to that of Squall's. Seifer's face cringed at the fact that someone else had the ability to give glares like Squall. He looked to Squall, whose face was returning to normal and his breathing was slowing down.

"Why in the hell didn't you tell me that someone else can glare like you? The world is gonna end soon now!" Seifer shouted, completely ignoring the glares that were sent his way. Glares that can bring about the next Ice Age.

Squall shook his head quickly, ridding himself of the images that were running through his head. He walked over to the stairs, stopping suddenly at the sound that was a door opening.

Out stepped a completely red Selphie, wrapped in a towel, eyes wide like an extra large pizza. Her entire body was red, and it wasn't from the hot shower she just took. She was walking slowly, almost as if she were trying to race a flood of molasses.

Squall didn't bother to turn around, for he knew who was walking slowly to the rooms below his. Quistis and Rinoa just both looked at Selphie with questioning looks, wondering what was going on that made Selphie scream like that. When they both looked back to Squall, they saw his face turn red again, and it dawned on them. Their faces went from questioning to shock just as fast as Selphie was walking.

"Sorry." Squall quickly spat out before bolting up the stairs and past a dazed Seifer, and through the door, closing it quickly, but not before Seifer heard a scraping noise being pushed up against the door. He barricaded himself in…again.

Seifer shook his head and walked down the stairs and to the living room, plopping himself down onto the couch and reaching for the remote. If he knew Squall, which he did, he wouldn't come out until the next damn blue moon. He began to search the channels for anything that would be remotely interesting before he died of boredom.

Quistis and Rinoa walked over to Selphie and put their hands on her shoulders. She looked up, dazed from the fact that their roommate now knew VERY intimate details about her body.

"Can I shrivel up and die now?" she asked quietly, still walking like a snail in a salt bin. The three women walked through the door of their part of the apartment, but not before two of them looked back to the blonde 'hottie' that sat on the couch, channel-surfing.

Seifer felt their stares, and smirked to himself, knowing that getting 'acquainted' with these women would be quite interesting.

- - - - - - - - - -

Squall sat in his room for a good three hours, doing nothing but thinking and rewinding thoughts in his mind. He now knew where everything was on Selphie. All the way from the little mole on her left shoulder all the way to---_NO!_

'_I can't think like that. She's my roommate. I have a reputation to uphold too. I can NOT be doing this kind of thing!'_ he thought, trying to keep his mind of the morning's events. He soon found himself thinking about not only what he had saw in the clear doors of the shower, but also about two certain women who had walked out the doors of the their part of the loft.

He thought about what Quistis had looked like. Her hair was slightly out of place, and was not in the usual bun she had everyday. It fell to about her shoulders, and she looked great without her glasses on. She clad in the blanket, but he could still see what she wore underneath. She had really, _really_ short shorts on. She was also wearing a large white t-shirt.

But his mind found his eyes wandering down. She had wonderfully long legs, appropriate for the strides she made everyday. They were slightly tan, and probably just shaven the night before, due to the little shine they gave off when the light hit them.

'_Argh! Why am I even thinking about these things? I am a respectable man! I'm not supposed to be like Irvine! Thinking about how good these women might be in bed! Must. Stop. Thinking. Argh!'_

But with Squall being who he is, thinking is the only thing he can do when alone. It was then his mind's eye began to focus on the other half of the immaculate duo.

He had seen Rinoa in her pajamas, her shirt and shorts being a light baby blue. Her shorts came down to her knees, while her shirt was somewhat tight on her torso. He saw her curves, from her hips to her chest. He saw her face, her raven hair tied into a ponytail. He saw her creamy white face, and then noticed how she postured herself. She had her arms crossed, making her chest protrude slightly---

His mind wandering as to what he could've done underneath it all.

'_AAHHH!'_ his mind screamed. He smacked himself on his face hard, trying to rid himself of his dastardly and quite inappropriate thoughts. _'Here I am, thinking about how my roommates look, and what I could do with each of them! This is insane! I'm acting like a damn teenager! I'm 21 for crying out loud, I'm not supposed to be doing things like this!'_

He dropped his head into his hands, trying to think with his brain, not his head. He let out a long sigh before looking at his two gunblades on the shelf above his bed. He was contemplating whether or not he should kill himself for acting like this. He never acted like this! Especially when it came to women. The only time he acted like this was when…when…when…he never acted like this!

He sighed once more before getting up and taking down the chair he had propped up against his door to ward away any prospecting intruders. He walked out to find Seifer, Irvine, and Zell sitting around the tv, watching Jerry Springer. It had something to do with sisters having sex with their boyfriend's parents or something like that. All of his show had some type of incest involved.

He walked behind them, heading for the kitchen fridge. He got out the orange juice and poured himself a cup. He was in the middle of drinking when Irvine opened his mouth.

"So I heard you walked in on Selphie when she was in the shower? What she look like?"

Squall choked on his drink and raced to the sink, spitting it out before he died drowning on his juice. Seifer and Zell turned around, smiles on their faces. Squall glared at them before drinking what was left of his juice and washing his cup out. He looked at Irvine, ice in his eyes. Irvine thought that he saw a couple of penguins walked by when he realized how cold that stare was.

Zell and Seifer didn't bother to look at Irvine or Squall. Neither wanted to be buried alive under a ton of snow thanks to the Ice Prince.

Squall sat down silently, not bothering to answer Irvine's question, or to look at the others, even though he knew that Seifer was bound to say something sooner or later. Too bad it wouldn't be later.

"I thought you should know something. It's not everyday that you walk in on your neighbor taking a shower." He looked over to Squall, a small smirk playing his features. He wiggled his eyebrows a couple times to get his meaning across.

Squall rolled his eyes as the others laughed wildly. "Look, just because I walked in on her doesn't mean I saw anything."

"Oh sure Squall. Like you didn't see anything in a shower that has clear doors on it." Zell quipped. His smile was spread to his eyes.

"Alright! So I did…_see_ some things, its not like I saw her whole body or anything!" He stammered out, trying to defend himself.

Everyone just stared at him as if he had just stolen something. He shook his head in defeat. "…So maybe I did, SO WHAT?"

No one heard the knocking coming gently from the door that led to the stairs. They were too busy trying to get Squall to tell them what he had seen…exactly.

They didn't stop either when three women walked out of their rooms yelling at each other over something. It wasn't like the guys were listening or anything. Rinoa came out first, dressed in a tight green shirt with gray sleeve sticking out from underneath, and a pair of faded jeans. Selphie followed, with a little pink shirt that showed off a bit of her stomach, and she had on shorts that would classify as a scarf. Quistis came out shortly, in a pair of capris and a black sleeveless shirt on.

They were arguing amongst themselves about what they should do tonight, and they completely ignoring the chiding that was going on beside them among the guys. With the tv on, no one heard the door being pounded on. It was only when the door opened that everyone stopped arguing and looked at the door.

In came a rather, professional looking woman, her black hair in a tight French braid, wearing a knee length white skirt and long sleeved green turtleneck on, and had ankle length boots on. They guys stared, if not drooled at the new arrival, while the women gave her evaluating stares.

"Hi guys!" she said, before looking around briefly and setting her eyes on her objective. She walked briskly over to Squall and sat on his lap, although you can't classify jumping on someone as sitting. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before smiling widely, white teeth shining.

Quistis, Rinoa, and Selphie each looked as if another dog had walked into their territory and pissed and shit in it. Their wide eyes slowly narrowed, each woman intent on ripping off a body part and roasting it on a fire for bite bugs to pick at.

It was only then that Squall had noticed the glares that he was receiving from the women, and the raised eyebrows that the guys were pointing in his direction.

"Uh…everyone. I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Xu."

The second Ice Age just started.

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N: well now…isn't this just something to gawk at. Squall already has a girlfriend. ! What the hell is all that? I'm not sure myself, but I'm certain that there will be claws and teeth being thrown around soon. And what about the guys? Who knows what they're gonna do to Squall. Well, I know…but you don't. But it'll still be a triangle! And that'll change soon! Wait till next chapter!


	5. Ha Ha Ha

Ha Ha Ha

A/N: One word…GOTCHA!

- - - - - - - - - -

Squall's eyes scanned around the room, taking in the glares and surprised faces that were littered about.

Seifer's face was still plastered with his trademark smirk, but the wiggling of his eyebrows suggested otherwise.

Zell's jaw had dropped to the floor, tongue hanging out like a loose belt and drooling all over the place.

Irvine wasn't even looking up, for he had his face in his hands, hat covering the rest of his head. But it was easy to hear his muffled laughter.

But if looks could kill, Squall would be buried six feet under in a box, body filled with bullet holes, and ants eating what was left of his rotting corpse. That was the summary of all the looks the women were giving him and his _girlfriend_.

"Uh…Xu?" Squall finally stammered out, trying to avoid the looks he was being given by both genders present in the apartment.

"Yes?" She said, looking back down at Squall, who was beginning to look a little pale at the sudden temperature drop in the living space.

"My room if you don't mind?" He nodded his head to his upper loft room. He didn't need to look around to feel the temperature drop again. _'If this keeps up I might need to get a parka to wear around this place.'_ He thought dryly.

Xu quickly got off his lap and walked around the group, not receiving a single glare. But as Squall got up, all eyes were on him. As he started walking he felt his limbs would freeze in place, and someone would come up behind him and shatter him to pieces with a pickaxe. He quickly flew up the stairs, flew, not ran, flew, up the stairs, for fear that something like that just might happen in the next few seconds.

When he got past the door and had closed and bolted and barricaded, assuring himself that no beasts of retribution or rage would break through, he calmed himself. But not before hearing an outburst of screaming and shouting, each thinking the same thing…WHEN IN THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN!

- - - - - - - - - -

When Squall had left the living room, all Hell broke loose. In the form of three bewildered men, and three very flustered women.

Seifer, Zell, and Irvine were all asking each other what the hell was going on with Squall and why the hell he never told anyone about this. As far as they knew, he had only a few girlfriends, but none he ever allowed to get that close in front of anyone. _Ever_.

The girls were screaming at each other about nothing, none of them trying to release the emotions on one another, but trying to save them up for certain woman sitting alone with Squall.

'_Gah! Alone! Oh god, Oh god, Oh god…'_ Rinoa thought to herself, pacing around like a lunatic with a straight jacket on. Quistis wasn't far off either.

'_I cannot believe this! My roommate and friend already has a girlfriend! AHHH! How? How could this happen! How can Hyne be so cruel!'_ she thought, holding her head, resting her elbows on the counter next to the kitchen sink.

Selphie was the only one out of that little group who wasn't thinking about ways to maim or murder the young woman. _'He could have at least told us about all this before she came around. At least we wouldn't all be acting up like this! Well, maybe not the guys, but sheesh! It like Quistis and Rinoa were cheated on by a guy they still barely know and aren't even going out with!'_

Selphie gave a quick sigh before planting herself next to Irvine, who was still yelling at Seifer and Zell, who were each yelling at each other. _'Men, why do they always act like this?'_

She sighed once again before tuning them all out and trying to watch tv.

- - - - - - - - - -

Squall was a little surprised at the outburst, but then started to give a slight chuckle before he sat down next to Xu, who was breaking out in laughter.

"So you think they fell for it?" She asked in between yips.

"Definitely. I think that went quite well. Don't you think?" He asked, propping himself on his elbows as he leaned back onto his bed.

"Yep. I can't believe you actually said that! I thought I would die with the looks you little girlfriends were giving me! But I would thought I would die from trying to hold in my laughter even more!" she started, mimicking his position on the bed.

Squall sat there, looking at his former classmate. They made the best of friends, as far as best could get, and tried to take it a little further. Things had become awkward between the two, so they had settled as just being friends. It wasn't very often though they played tricks like that on Squall's friends. It was in fact the first thing they had ever pulled off on any of them.

"So…" Xu questioned, one eyebrow raised.

Squall looked at her, mimicking her facial expression, "So…"

"Which one do you like?" she answered. If there was ever a time to have a shocked face, this was it for Squall.

"W-What? What're you talking about?" He asked, trying to fight the warm sensation rising in his face.

Xu was quick to notice the small hue of pink wash over his cheeks.

"The herd of Mesmerize sitting outside your door. The women you dolt! Which one has piqued your interest?" she quipped, trying to push his buttons that dealt with the opposite sex.

Squall got up and walked to his window, staring out at nothing. "I don't know what you're talking about. Besides, if I did like anyone of them, why would I tell you?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you're beginning to blush and you are trying to avoid the subject. And you're beginning to pace around, which shows that you are nervous about this subject of conversation. I don't know." Xu giggled.

She was right. He was subconsciously trying to avoid the subject _and_ he was pacing like he normally does when he is in worry. _'Why did I ever meet this woman? She knows me better than my own family. Which is good in a sort of way…'_

Squall sighed, knowing she wasn't going to give up anytime soon. "I don't know. They all seem like decent people. Although Selphie seems a little interested in Irvine, even though she tries not to show it."

Xu nodded, motioning for him to go on.

"And that Quistis seems like a really nice person, but I've seen some of the looks she's given Seifer in the past few minutes. I don't know. She looks like a great person, but in some ways, just a little like…me, ya know?"

Xu nodded again, her head cocking to one side. Squall knew what she was asking.

"She acts like me in some ways, which I commend her for. She's very organized, punctual, and articulate about things. I guess she provides a sort of stability to her friends. She knows when to lighten up though."

Xu nodded slowly this time, taking in the information that just passed through her ears. "Then what about the other one?"

"Rinoa? Well…I'm not sure. There's not much I can really say about her, just that she has a sense of spontaneity and that she loves to play around sometimes. But she knows that there are times to pay around and times to be serious."

"Hm," Xu mumbled, "A sense of stability, or the sense of unpredictability. Tough choice in my opinion. Both are sound like great people, but you have to choose one or the other. You can't have a triangle going on, it'll only cause you and them a great deal of pain that neither of you need."

Squall continued staring out the window of his room, thinking about her words.

'_She's right. I wouldn't want to hurt them or myself, naturally. But both are great women and they seem like great potential partners. Partners? What the hell am I saying? It's like I'm going to ask them to marry me or something! No way in hell is that happening! Why am I even saying all this? How in the hell did I start talking about all this shit?'_ Squall yelled at himself.

Xu continued looking upon her friends face, noticing the slight changes in his features. It was almost as if he was arguing with himself.

"Whatever. I don't care about either of them that much to even consider them to be something more than friends or roommates. It's just not in the cards." Squall stated, his tone a little more decisive than he meant it to be.

Xu looked at him astonished. She was amazed that even though he had given his new roommates a quick review of how they might be of some actual good in his life, that he had once again proven that he can once again be nothing more than a selfish guy.

"I know you're my friend and all, but what in the hell are you thinking?" she shouted. Thank Hyne the walls were soundproof.

Squall looked at her astonished. She never shouted at him before, not even when they had tried being together. He knew that he wouldn't be talking for a while.

"You just told me what you thought about the three women down there who are you're roommates, and two of them have your interest. But now after waging some mental war with yourself, your head thinks it knows everything and decides that it doesn't need some excess baggage?" she shouted at him, her body inching ever so close to his.

Squall avoided making eye contact with her, once again resuming his position of looking out the window. But Xu wasn't going to allow him to avoid her. Not this time.

She pulled his arm until his entire body faced her, and she locked eyes with him.

"Don't even think about avoiding me! You are never going to able to avoid me for as long as we both live, and you know it! You are also never going to be able to avoid to the decision that is sitting in that room there!" she pointed to door leading out to the living room.

"I can already see that look in your eyes." Her voice softened just a tad, but still held authority over the ass-chewing.

"That look that says 'I don't want to talk about it'. But I know its what you want to talk about. There are two women who you know you're going to have feelings for sooner or later, and when those feelings come around, you are not going to know what to do about them."

She cupped his face in her hands and looked at him like she would an old love. Her voice softened to become a whisper.

"You'll know it when it happens. Trust me you will know it, but until that time comes, I want you to just embrace your feelings and trust this for a change," she flicked the spot of his heart, "and not this for once." She tapped his head.

"You've been listening to your head for too long. It's time you let something else do the thinking for a change." She let him go and let her words sink in.

Squall thought on it, then thought something else. He raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Don't look at me like that Leonhart. I know what just crossed your mind, so get your head out of the gutter."

Squall smirked. _'She's known me for too long.'_

Xu smirked back, before resuming her seat on his black bed. She began to look around his room to see if anything had changed since she was here last.

Everything was the same, the computer desk in the corner, with the Alienware sitting on it. The work desk he had ALL of his paperwork at. The shelf that held the two gunblades from his training. The only new thing she saw was what was above the gunblades. _ All of them._

There, on the wall above the Revolver and Lion Heart, sat each and every type of gunblade made in the Revolver-class of the gunblades.

The Shear Trigger, Cutting Trigger, Flame Saber, Twin Lance, and the Punishment, each sat at a forty-five degree angle, blades facing the lower left corner.

She sat looking at the seven gunblades, never once seeing them all in one place, least of all Squall's room.

Squall noticed Xu's silence and looked over to her, seeing she was looking at something on the wall. He followed her line of sight until he looked at his gunblade collection.

"I just finished with them." Xu broke her stare and looked back at him, wondering what he was talking about.

He saw the look on her face and motioned his head back to the wall. "The Punishment was the last gunblade to be delivered to me. It came in about a week ago."

Xu nodded and looked back to the collection. She saw that the Revolver and Lion Heart both pointed to each on the shelf, but she missed what they were pointing to. In the middle of the two gunblades, sat a silver miniature statue.

"Griever." She said to herself. Not seeing the slight nod Squall gave to her statement.

"I had it made a month ago. It came in the same time the Punishment did. It's made of silver." Squall narrated.

Squall was about to continue before he heard a knock at the door. Xu looked to the door too, wondering what was going on. Squall shrugged, then noticed the clock's red numbers behind her: 4:05.

They had been talking for at least three hours, but the others outside were probably thinking otherwise. Xu looked behind herself and noticed the same thing, until a mischievous smile came on her face.

A small smile appeared on Squall's face. He couldn't agree more.

- - - - - - - - - -

Seifer pounded on the door one more time. If he had to knock one more time, he would take the axe that was in the lower closet and do a 'The Shining' impression to great effect.

He turned around and began walking down the stairs until he heard a shuffle come from behind the door. "About damn time!"

When the door opened, Seifer's jaw, along with everyone else's, could have fallen straight through the floor to ground level and out onto the road to get ran over. Again, and again, and again, and again.

Out came Squall, dressed in his gray wife-beater and his boxers, Xu following behind in one of Squall's shirts and shorts. A slight smile came over Squall's features, while Xu covered her mouth, trying not to laugh out loud at the expressions that were spread among the faces in the loft.

Squall first saw Zell who was sitting on the couch, spooning some ice cream, which had appropriately fallen into his lap from his mouth, which was dripping like a leaky pipe.

He shifted his eyes to Irvine who was sitting adjacent of him on the right side of the couch. Irvine's face was plastered with shock, his body frozen in time, spoon and ice cream floating in mid air, inches from his mouth.

His next place was over Selphie, who was sitting next Irvine, looking equally shocked, only her spoon was gripped firmly in place by her jaw, which was frozen shut. Her eyes told the whole story.

Squall looked back over to the kitchen, where he saw Quistis petrified in one spot, ice cream scoop in one hand, and the other holding the ice cream box in a death grip. Her knuckles were turning white, from the coldness or shock, Squall couldn't tell.

He then saw Rinoa who was holding an ice cream box that fell to the floor shortly after. Behind her the freezer door was still wide open, several items beginning to thaw out.

When he came back to Seifer, he couldn't help the smile that completely took over his face. There, Seifer was standing, one foot on the floor, the other on the stairs, his eyes wide enough to dig out with a spoon and mouth open wide enough to pull out his tongue and slap it back like a bad blind.

He didn't notice Xu who had left and come back with a camera and snapped a quick shot before running back in. The flash from the camera had snapped everyone out of their daze and had them trying to get to what they were doing.

"Ohdammitall! Now this stuff's all over my clothes!" Zell whined, trying to get the ice cream of his pants.

No one else said a thing, as they were busy minding their own business, as hard as it was when the source of the problem was walking down the stairs and towards the kitchen to, more than likely, grab some ice cream.

Squall pulled out a stool and sat on it, Xu sitting next to him.

"Mind if we have some?" Squall asked, a smile playing his features. Xu was giggling slightly, covering her mouth to muffle out the sound.

Quistis nodded silently, scooping out some more ice cream while Rinoa picked up the fallen box and placed it next to Quistis before rummaging through the drawers for some spoons. When she had found them, Rinoa had placed them down with an emphatic slam.

Squall smiled some more, looking over at Xu who was tearing up from keeping her laughing out loud.

Quistis slammed down the ice cream scoop, placing her hands on either side of her, death glare in her eyes. Everyone else looked up and at her, wondering who was going to die in the next minute. Squall and Xu weren't the least bit fazed.

"What in the hell is the fricking matter with you two? You two more than likely just finished something that none of was want to know about and you're both laughing like school kids!" She shouted, making everyone else wince, while the two held their heads down. Not in shame, but in trying not to laugh in her face.

"I would like to know…" Irvine said silently, before being hit in the face by an ice cream scoop. The gang in the living room, shrank away slightly.

Squall and Xu were now trembling slightly, but enough to warrant attention. Quistis looked back at them, still glaring like there was no tomorrow, which was more than likely for the two if they kept up with their attitudes.

"What are you crying now? I could understand her but not you, Squall!" she screamed.

Enough was enough.

A snort was heard from Squall, who held his hand up to mouth. When he looked up, Quistis was taken aback.

Here was Squall, holding his face, tears in his eyes. When he removed his hand, his laughter came out in a wide bellow. He kept laughing when he put his forehead onto the counter, holding his sides from laughing so damn much.

When Quistis looked to her left, she saw Xu in a similar position, holding her side, her other hand over her mouth, with tears in her eyes. She too broke out in hysteria.

Quistis, along with Rinoa and everyone else, was stupefied at their friend's reactions.

It clicked for her one second too late. Her eyes shot wide open, and she looked between the two, eyes flying back and forth between the two like a tennis match on speed.

"You two didn't actually…?" her words and voice trailed off into the distance.

Squall looked up for a second, trying to put on a serious face, but to no avail. He shook his head as laughter took him again. Xu broke out uncontrollably beside him, falling off the stool and landing on her rump, before resuming her laughter.

Squall looked over and saw her fall, but couldn't do anything except having to laugh some more about something else.

"You mean to say you two aren't…?" Seifer stated, still frozen in his position on the stairs, but his hands pointing at both Squall and Xu. Quistis looked at him and sighed, placing her hand on her forehead.

By that time, everyone had figured it out and was looking at the two with exasperated looks. Squall managed to control himself for a little while before starting again with his hysterics. "Gotcha."

Everyone was talking and laughing amongst themselves now that they knew they had fallen for their prank.

This had Squall and Xu laughing even more, before looking up and seeing Rinoa beside Quistis, giggling slightly. Quistis joined in too, and soon everyone was laughing beside the two, but not as much as the two, now floor-ridden, Squall and Xu.

This was one for the history books. But not before Quistis grabbed a heavy piece of tupperware and threw it down at Squall.

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Gotchagotchagotcha! I knew that you wouldn't believe that Squall and Xu were actually getting it on. It's IMPOSSIBLE! I would never do that! I would shoot myself if I did, but I think others would shoot me first for even hinting at such a pairing. But hey! Squall is quite the ladies man these days! Well…that's all for this chapter, but you're gonna like what's gonna happen next! Here's a hint: It's time for a night out in the town! Who knows what'll happen then and there?


	6. A Night to Remember: Part 1

A Night to Remember

- - - - - - - - - -

One month later…

Everyone was busy. Everyone had something to do, whether it be a party out somewhere or a business meeting on the other side of the city. Whatever it was, everyone had something to do. The whole loft was empty. Except one room…

Squall was in his room, polishing his Revolver gunblade. It had been a while since he used any gunblade in his training time, or even trained for that matter. He was the only person in the entire loft who had nothing to do.

Once he was finished polishing his gunblade, he walked over to a table beside his bed and turned on the radio, only to decide the next moment to turn it off. He then went to his computer desk and was about to power on the monitor, but thought otherwise. He was about to go and grab another gunblade, but then remembered that he had already polished all of them at least once or twice. So he opted to sit on his bed and look out the windows that took up an entire wall.

He stared at the setting sun that was halfway done with its job.

'_That's all it ever does. Goes up, and comes back down. Up and down, up and down. At least it has a job to do. I don't have anything to do and I'm twenty-one for Hyne's sake! I should at least have a job. But then again, all the jobs I've ever had I never liked.'_

Squall continued staring out the windows and let his thoughts wander aimlessly around in his head.

'_Everyone has something to do, and I sit here all day, thinking about nothing. Okay then. Let's see if I can find something to think about…'_

For about three hours, Squall sat and thought, finding nothing worth thinking about, other than his boredom and frustration of finding nothing to think about.

'_Over three hours of thinking and even _I_ can't think of anything that would suffice. But then again, what would the others be thinking about?'_

Squall had since lain down on his bed, finding it more comfortable than just sitting up all day.

'_Hm. I know that Irvine would be too preoccupied with following Selphie around like a little dog with no home. I have never seen that man try and go after someone for so long. Even I thought that man had limits when it came to chasing women. But Selphie seems to be holding her own. It's like she dangling a carrot in front of an anorexic rabbit's face.' _

But even then, Squall had found it amusing to see Irvine jump at every request she made. Even if Selphie had made it sound like an order for a slave.

'_He would lick the soles of her boots if she told him to. I should get a camera if that ever happens.'_

Squall remember what he was thinking about and thought that it was best if he didn't break his train of thought.

'_So that's those two, they seem to made for each other. Or he made for her to take orders like a little slave. Then what about Zell? I remember when Xu had come over again a few days ago we were talking about how our lives were progressing in the 'love department'. It was like Zell had retreated into a shell. He blushed like a beet and quickly went to bathroom. That was something else. Zell getting into something with another person? Ha. Never thought that would happen. But then again I remember him talking about a library girl a couple of days before that.'_

Squall let out a light laugh at thought. Remembering his friend grow slightly pink in his cheeks after saying something under his breath.

'_Then there's Seifer. He's been acting…strange lately. Almost as if he were hiding…something.'_

It dawned on Squall that Seifer always acted that way when Quistis was around. It was this way when he came over a week ago. It was almost as if he were—

'—_trying to impress her. I can't believe I didn't see it before. Geez, Squall. Way to be dense. But then why does she always stare at me when she thinks I'm not looking in her direction?'_

There was a reason why Squall had such long bangs…

'_She looks at me like she wants me. Wants. Me. Oh shit. If Seifer finds out about this in the wrong way, I'm screwed beyond all recognition. Now that I know that he likes her but she likes me…ugh. I don't need this.'_

Squall placed a hand to his forehead and sighed. _'Not good.'_

A knock came to his door during his little state of mental duress. "Come in!"

In walked the object of Seifer's affection: Quistis Trepe. _'Definitely NOT good.'_

"Hey there. Just thought if you would like some. Couldn't eat it all on my own."

She held up a small brown bag of Chinese take out. Squall nodded his head and motioned for her to come in. He got up and went to his radio and turned it on, having it play Jet just for the hell of it. He went back to his bed where Quistis was sitting and she had just finishing emptying the bag of its Chinese contents. She held up a box to him.

"Lo mein?" she asked, eyes hopeful.

"Sure. Always liked the stuff." He took the box and sat down in his rolling computer chair, propping his feet up on the desk.

Quistis smiled and opened up another box, this one looking like some more lo mein with little shrimps in it.

They both ate in silence, neither wanting to talk with a mouthful of food. But also neither having something to talk about. Well, at least one of them didn't.

"Squall?" She broke the silence with her whisper.

Squall looked up at her, a mouthful of noodles halfway in his mouth with the other half still in the box. His eyebrows were raised in recognition of her question.

"Drop the food first." She laughed.

He bit through the noodles and placed the box on the desk, dropping his feet to rest them on the ground. He had a profound feeling in the back of his head that told him to pay attention with his life. He turned the radio down so he could hear her speak clearly.

"I have something to ask you."

Squall's head could have frozen stiff and fallen of his shoulders if he didn't prop them on his hands, which he propped on his knees. He looked at her with an emotionless face.

"What do you think of me?" she asked. She knew what she was doing, she just wasn't sure of how she would react to his reaction.

Squall's reaction wasn't written on his face. It was burned into his eyes with a rusty cattle prod. His eyes went wide, but not wide enough for her to notice right of the bat. He looked down, just incase she did manage to see his eyes.

He got up from his chair and sat down next to Quistis, making her eyes grow wide at his movement. He looked at her, trying to keep the emotion from reaching his face.

"Why would you ask me a question like that? You know you're my friend. Why would you think that I would consider you otherwise?"

He continued to look at her, but she looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet his questioning gaze.

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking. Sorry. Forget I ever asked." She whispered.

She tried to dig back into her box of food, but Squall's hands, silenced her motions. She looked up at him, meeting his blue eyes with her own.

"Why did you ask me that Quistis?" he silently pleaded. He was hoping that she would just continue with her excuse, but another side of him wanted her to tell the truth about what was going through her mind.

She looked away, unable to maintain contact with his eyes. But she couldn't completely sever her connection with him. Especially when his hand was on top of hers, preventing her from doing anything else.

She looked at his hand, all the veins and blood pulsing through it. How just one simple movement of his hand could make her freeze in an instant. Her heart had jumped at his contact with her.

She placed the box down in her lap, but not moving his hand away from hers. Once it was down, she took his hand in hers, carefully running her fingers over his, noting how rough and callused they were from his training with gunblades. She continued to do this until she mindlessly intertwined her fingers with his. She stopped when she realized that his fingers were closing with hers.

She looked up at him, his eyes still focused on her being. It was as though his eyes were searching her soul for the answer her mouth wouldn't say. But her eyes were shouting the truth to him, hoping that he would see what she wanted.

Neither of them realized that their bodies were moving closer together of their own accord, until their noses touched. Their mouths closed in on each other, each with a desire waiting to be fulfilled once they met.

But Fate doesn't play that game so easily.

The sound of the Squall's door whooshing open a half second before their lips met made the two separate faster than a cactuar on crack. Squall was already standing at the windows looking out, while Quistis was chowing down on her food.

In popped Selphie, wide smile on her face, with Irvine naturally behind her, hat raised on his head. Behind them stood Zell, mouth full of food, smiling like an idiot with a mouthful of food. Rinoa and Seifer stood behind them, smiling too, just not as brightly as the others. It was as if they had other things on their minds.

"Hey guys! We didn't find Quisty downstairs so we thought that she would be up here with you! Sooooo…we were wondering whether or not you guys wanted to go out with us in the city! It would be sooo much fun! Pleasepleaseplease!"

How Selphie managed to squeeze out that request in less than two seconds and on one breath of air was a mystery to Squall.

"Yeah sure. Why not. I've been couped up in here long enough." Squall said, hoping that would appease the 'energetic-bouncing-ball-of-ruin-your-momentness'.

Quistis nodded her head too, keeping her face hidden from the group. She didn't want them to notice how red her face was. She was as red as the Chinese symbols that were printed on the side of the box.

"YAY! More peeps to have fun with! Heehee! You two can go back to kissing or whatever you two were doing before!"

Selphie bounced down the stairs, smile still evident on her face, with Irvine in tow. Zell quickly bounded down the stairs too, intent on raiding the fridge before he had to go get changed back home. Rinoa and Seifer walked down too, except they weren't bounding or bouncing, just walking normally, each with a smirk on their face.

When the door was closed, Quistis let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. That and her mouth was completely stuffed with food she couldn't digest all at once. So in effect, her cheeks were puffy.

Squall turned around, letting out a breath too, before taking in another one and holding it.

There she was, the woman he was about to kiss, face red as the symbols on the Chinese box and her face stuffed with food that made her look like a chipmunk.

He pursed his lips, trying to keep a smile from forming on his face. Quistis looked up and saw his face, wondering what was making him act like that. She gave him a questioning glare, before he walked over and placed his two index fingers on her cheeks. He poked them both.

"Squishy-cheeks." He said with a lisp.

Her eyes widened before she managed to swallow what food she had in her mouth, then proceeded to slap Squall repeatedly on his arm. He flinched away, hiding himself from her onslaught. He grabbed a pillow and shielded himself from her, while she grabbed another pillow from his bed and proceeded to smack him with that instead.

She continued to pound on him before she knocked the pillow out of his hands. He grabbed her pillow and yanked it out of her hands. He threw it out of the way before he shielded himself again from her hits. He quickly grabbed her and pulled her close, encircling her in a bear hug.

She struggled to get out, but her arms were pinned to her sides and Squall wasn't about to let go. When she looked up she saw his face, smile replacing his solid mask.

She saw his eyes, how they were the ones that told the stories and played the emotions that Squall's face refused to make.

He relaxed his hold on her, allowing her arms to wrap around his waist. He gently pulled her closer, bringing their faces ever so near. Once again, they were about to fulfill their inner desires.

But like I said, Fate doesn't play that game so easily.

The door whooshed open again, this time not giving Squall or Quistis a chance to separate in time.

"I knew it! I knew it! You two do have something going on!" piped an eager Selphie.

Squall quickly walked over to where Selphie was and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was made Selphie's blood drain from her face and nod quickly, before bolting off down the stairs and into Irvine's lap on the sofa.

Squall sighed again before closing the door. He looked back to Quistis who was blushing crazily again. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him with a questioning look.

"What did you say to her to make her look like that?" she asked.

"I just told her that if she walks in again without knocking, I'm going to make sure that Irvine is going to know every single intimate and _physical_ detail about her." Squall said, a small smirk forming on his face.

"You're evil you know that?"

"Maybe. But I know I'm good at it. Squishy cheeks."

"You!"

She quickly picked up a discarded pillow and threw it at him before stomping out the door, all the Chinese food in hand.

Squall got up from ground, where the pillow was now laying on top of his head, looking like a raccoon cap. He sighed before heading to his closet to see he would where on the night out in the town.

He heard a small knock on the door. "Enter!" _'Great…second part of not goodness.'_

In walked Rinoa, dressed in a knee length black skirt and a black shoulder-less top. Her hair was tied into a ponytail and she had black boots on that came up to her calf.

'_What is it with women and always looking so damn good?'_

"Hey. I…um…just wanted to ask you something if you don't mind." She asked quietly.

Squall turned his attention back to the closet, pretending to try and pick out something to wear, but each time failing because of the woman standing behind him. He completely forgot about the pillow still sitting on the top of his head, perched like a beaver skin.

"Ask away." He said, still trying to pick out something to wear.

"Well…I don't mean to pry or anything but…"

"But what?"

"Is there something going on between you and Quistis? I mean I saw you and her both looking a little flustered when we all came knocking and such."

Squall kept his attention to the closet, but his face was beginning to glow at the remembrance of what he and Quistis were about to do twice if there wasn't a sudden door opening every time they almost met lips.

"No. Nothing is going on. We were just talking about some private things that's all."

'_Yes. Private things. How private is a kiss when you get barged in on all the time?'_

"Oh okay." Rinoa let out a small sigh of relief. "Um…one more question? If you don't mind?"

"Shoot."

"Um…what do you think of me?" Rinoa mentally berated herself for even saying that question. It wasn't even in her list of things to ask Squall!

Squall nearly fell to the ground in astonishment, but he composed himself enough to turn around and face the beauty standing before him. If anyone was doing the mental berating, it was Squall. There were some pretty fancy phrases flying around in his head, but chose not to voice them at any point in time.

"Um…um…" Squall stood there, pillow perched on his head, hands by his side, and sweat beginning to bead down his forehead.

'_Great time to clam up you nitwit! First off, you get asked this question by one person you like, then right when that's finished, the other comes in and asks the same damn question! What in the hell? Do I have a sign on me that says 'come and ask me what I think of you' on my back? Why in the hell is this happening to me?'_

"I understand if you don't want to say anything. I really didn't know what was going through my head at the time. I'm sorry about this."

Rinoa turned on her heel to leave, but was stopped when Squall grabbed her shoulder. She froze in an instant, feeling the rough but gentle hand slowly turn her around to him. She continued looking down at the ground, her right foot slowly making circles on the floor.

Squall brought a finger up under her chin and made her look at him. His ice blue eyes locked with the warm brown ones that belonged to her.

"Why are you asking me this? Is there something you want to say?"

She continued to look up at him, his gaze slowly bringing her in closer to him. Her face came dangerously close, close enough to have them kiss, but not before Fate played her hand.

Again.

The pillow that was perched atop Squall's head came right down in between the two, effectively severing the almost connection between them. Squall looked down at the pillow that was now on the floor.

Rinoa was standing before him, her hands on his shoulders. How she got them there without her noticing them was a mystery. But one she was willing to overlook because his hands were on her hips.

She quickly backed away, but not before her face turned completely red. She continued to back away until she reached his door, and clumsily tried to open it.

"I-I-I'm so sorry…" She quickly opened and slammed the door shut, leaving a stunned and bewildered Squall in her wake.

'_Why me? Me! Ugh…I don't think my heart can take much more of this.'_

Squall shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts, but was failing miserably, thanks to the two beauties he had almost kissed.

This was a night Squall wanted to forget badly. But he still had to go out with everyone, including the two, which would make this a night to remember.

Whether he liked it or not.

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Okay, so this is just the intro to the night, but some stuff is still going to happen when they all go out for the night. So tell me what you think of it! Oh…on a side note, I've been having some people telling me to update. Fact is, they think I'm a woman. HA HA HA. Wrong on that count. Last time I checked, I was a full-fledged guy. I just have a knack for romantic comedies. Oh well. R&R!


	7. A Night to Remember: Part 2

A Night to Remember: Part 2

- - - - - - - - - -

Squall had finally managed to pick something out in his mind after he had seen how some of his friends had been dressed up. He was standing at the top of the stairs, still in his normal clothes, and looking among his friends.

Irvine was lounging about in the living room, dressed in a long dark tan jacket with a white turtleneck underneath. It was accompanied by matching leather pants and black shoes. His hair was in the traditional ponytail and topped off by his trademark cowboy hat.

Zell however was another matter. He was rustling about in the fridge, trying to find something edible. His hair was all spiked, a change from his 'lick' in the front. He had a white t-shirt on underneath a black vest. A pair of blue jeans and his normal shoes completed his look.

Seifer was on the other side of the living room, one leg crossed over the other. He had long blue pants and a blue vest on over his black tee. A thigh length gray jacket was slung over the back of the sofa. He was watching the tv with Irvine.

Squall went back into his room, and right to his closet. A few minutes later, he came back out into the living room and sat down in the middle of the sofa. He was dressed in a thigh length black leather jacket with a tight fitting short sleeve turtleneck. His pants were matching the rest of his outfit.

"Going to rob somebody after we get back, Leonhart?" Seifer asked, a smirk on his face.

Squall just looked over at him before turning back to the TV, shaking his head. Seifer just smirked some more before his attention returned to the tube.

Zell plopped down on the far end of the sofa, a bag of chips and dip and two cans of soda in his grasp. The three men looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"What? It's a little snack before we leave!" Zell stated. He was only met with silence and the same looks that he started with. He sighed before beginning to chow down.

The sound of a door opening drew the attention of all four men. The sound of jaws dropping onto the ground and a jar of dip crashing on the floor could be heard in the loft.

Out stepped four women who didn't even look like they were supposed to be on this plane of existence.

The first one that stepped out was Selphie. She was wearing a knee length yellow skirt and yellow elbow length top. Her hair was straightened, a complete change that had Irvine drooling on sofa. He quickly picked up a pillow and covered up his puddle of drool. His eyes were still glued to Selphie though.

The next one that came out was a shock to the four men. Well, three actually.

Ellone stepped out in blue top and white shin length skirt. She had a on a white leather vest to match the bottom. Her hair was short like Squall's, but it was all curled and bouncy.

She got a lot of attention not because of what she wore, but of why she was here. The men had no time to contemplate this because their attention was drawn back to the door.

Rinoa stepped out, in the same outfit she was wearing when she 'talked' to Squall. Everyone was stilled wide-eyed. Even though Squall had already seen her in her outfit, his breath still managed to get locked in his chest. Her hair was different though, it was down, but the very end was tied together behind her shoulders.

Quistis came out next in a blood red skirt and matching top. The sleeves came down past her hands and flared out at the end. Her hair was all down, a change from the traditional look her hair was normally in. It had a small red streak going down the in the front. Seifer believed that he had died and gone to heaven. If he believed in it.

The four women stood next to each other, each with smiles on their faces. The men didn't move, afraid that these angels, or something that closely looked like them, would vanish into thin air. Even though it would never happen, they weren't going to take any chances.

Squall was the first to speak, but it was directed at one individual.

"What are you doing here Ellone? I thought you were Esthar."

Squall turned to the sound of Zell choking on his soda. He was turning red from all the coughing he was doing, and from the eventuality that something was going to happen soon.

"Well, I was invited. And I was in town to visit you." Ellone said rather quickly. She was fiddling with her fingers and swaying slightly from side to side.

"Invited by whom?" Squall asked. His gaze was glued to her form, noticing that she was getting nervous in front of him. She turned her head down, but gave a quick glance to his right. He caught the glance, and looked to his right.

Zell also had his head down, and scratching the back of his head nervously.

Squall's intellect at the moment was a frozen computer. But one second later it went into overdrive.

He look went from Zell to Ellone. Zell. Ellone. Zell. Ellone. Zell.

Squall got up slowly, but was interrupted by Ellone.

"I was going to tell yo—"

A quick raise of Squall's hand silenced the curly brunette's excuse. He made his way to the kitchen, all eyes on him. He went around the 'island' of the kitchen and stopped on the other side of the stove. He reached up into the upper reaches of the pan rack and produced a bottle of Jack Daniel's.

Seifer's eyes went wide, along with everyone else's. No one knew that Squall drank, but no one knew that he only drank when it came to _extremely_ stressing circumstances. They all watched him down half of the bottle in one go.

He quickly slammed the bottle down onto the counter, making some of its contents splash out. He held his head down, letting his body get used to the liquid running down his throat. He breathed in through his teeth, creating a little hiss.

"Are you upset?" Ellone asked quietly, afraid of inciting the rage of Squall Leonhart.

"But let me tell you why."

He quickly replaced the bottle onto the upper reaches of the rack and made his way around the island and rested in the other side.

"First off, you may be older than me by a few years, but you are still my sister. And to be here to visit is one thing, but to 'visit' is another." He emphasized the quotes on visit.

He glared at Zell, who visibly cringed at the sight. He wished he could fade away right now and never come back.

"And you said you were going out with a librarian. She is not a librarian."

"I recently changed jobs—" she was silenced this time by Squall's glare. His eyes were asking her when this had happened.

"On second thought, I'll deal with all of this later. Let's get out of here before I drink the whole damn cabinet." Squall stated, his tone finalizing everything.

Everyone raised their heads in unison, and quickly made their way to the elevator. Seifer was thinking to himself quietly.

_What cabinet?_

- - - - - - - - - -

The trip to the downtown 'party' section of the city was long, but also very quiet.

Every time that Zell or Ellone tried to explain to Squall what was happening between them, he silenced them with an icy glare. After the second attempt at trying to explain, they decided it best to keep quiet.

But the silence wasn't kept for long. Once they had arrived at a flashy and glamorous club that seemed to scream 'PARTAY!' everyone's mood had lightened, even Squall's.

They each had proceeded inside after they were hassled a bit by the door security of the club. It took some 'persuasion', but they all had made it in before the club became too crowded.

Selphie and Irvine had managed to slip away from the group and proceeded to get their moves on in the dance floor. Zell and Ellone had followed them, albeit under the watchful gaze of a certain brother. Seifer, Quistis, and Rinoa each made their way to a table in a corner near the dance floor.

Squall however had remained near the entrance, leaning on a wall for support. He was being scanned by a few ladies who were lounging about in a nearby table. The guys that were with them weren't scanning though; they were actively checking him out.

Squall didn't find them a threat, he just found himself a bit uncomfortable under the gaze of the men, who he was guessing weren't going out with any of the women still staring at him during the whole time. Once he finally determined that the men were 'checking' him out, he got up off the wall and tried to find where his friends had disappeared to. He was unfortunately stopped by a hand on his arm.

He quickly turned around to face an all too familiar face.

Xu continued to hold onto his arm while he stood staring at her.

"And what brings you to my most magnificent club Mr. Leonhart?" she asked in his ear, just loud enough to get over the booming coming from the speakers littered about the club.

"Your club? You own this place?" Squall asked, a bit shocked at his friend's current address of work.

"Yup. Remember a little while ago I asked if I could borrow some money from you?"

Squall nodded his head in remembrance.

"Well, I started this place with that money, and now it is one of the hottest places in all of Deling! Its quiet nice isn't it?"

Squall looked around the club once more, taking in all the sights and bright lights that assaulted his senses in a series in loud thrums and vibrant colors.

"So like I was asking earlier, what brings you to my 'oh so humble' abode?" she raised her eyebrows in question.

Squall leaned into Xu this time, mimicking her position to him, placing his mouth near her ear.

"My friends had decided they wanted to get out of the apartment, so I guess you could say I was 'obliged' to attend."

Xu raised an eyebrow along with a smirk of hers.

"Rrrriiiiiiight. Well I hope you enjoy yourself, I have to go see what my bartenders want. They've been bothering me to come and talk to them all night. See you later!"

Xu quickly let go of his arm, and gave him a smile before putting on a professional face and proceeding straight to the bar. Squall followed her direction, but came to a halt when he saw Seifer sitting at a table with Quistis and Rinoa. They each were enjoying themselves, but Seifer wasn't looking too much into the conversation going on between the two women.

Squall proceeded to the table, quickly grabbing Seifer's attention and quickly excusing himself from the table. He proceeded to walk rather quickly towards Squall, and grabbed his arm and pulled him to a table on the other side of the club, far away from the eyes of Quistis and Rinoa.

Squall was about to question Seifer as to why he was so forcefully pulled away to this spot, but a quick glare from Seifer made him hold his tongue. Squall didn't even know that Seifer could do anything except make jokes and make that stupid smirk of his day in and day out.

"I've been thinking a little since we left the loft."

"You. Thinking? Did one of the girls slip a roofie into your drink or something?"

"Just shut up and listen, alright Leonhart!"

Squall was a little perturbed that his friend called him by his last name instead of his given. The only time he did that was when he had a lot on his mind and no way to let it out. Either that or it meant that he was about to kill someone. Squall hoped it was the former.

"I was thinking about what happened earlier this evening."

Squall suddenly understood what was going on in Seifer's mind, albeit it was never that hard to get what he was thinking about.

"Look, I know what you're thinking about, and yes it was that, but it never happened."

Seifer started to open his mouth, but a hand held up by Squall told him to shut up and listen.

"Even though it never happened, it was going to. And I know that you like Quistis, but I don't know who she likes. She's been staring at me when she thinks I don't notice it, but I do. But there is another thing."

Seifer again tried to interrupt, but all he got was an icy glare.

"I _may_ like Quistis, but I also _may_ like Rinoa."

Squall looked to Seifer, who had his hand on his chin like Dr. Odine does at points in time.

"Verrrryyy interesting Squall. I can't begin to imagine how long it took for you to muster up the courage to say all that, but I can imagine that it was what you thinking about when I dragged you over here."

Squall looked at Seifer, confused as hell as to what he just said.

"I wasn't thinking about what you _almost_ did with Quistis, _and_ Rinoa. I was thinking about the damn cabinet of booze you have hidden in your apartment."

Squall stood there, dumbfounded and utterly embarrassed. He had spilled what guts he had to his best friend about his confusing love life, and here Seifer was, smirking like an idiot who had just found an entire farm of weed.

"Don't worry though, if Quistis likes you it alright, I'm not really trying too hard to reel her in, although I could play a hand in trying to ease your 'troubled' love life."

Squall glared at him, which earned a larger smirk along with a snicker.

"Just promise me one thing."

"What would that be?"

"You have got to show me where you keep your stash of goodies."

Squall only smiled.

- - - - - - - - - -

The night was young, but the eight individuals that walked out of the club were a little younger.

They were all tired, even though the happy faces said otherwise. They all walked to the parking lot where they had parked the group van and clambered on inside. The trip back to the loft was equally as silent as the trip going. Squall was driving, while Seifer sat shotgun. Zell sat in the middle row with Selphie and Irvine, the two cuddling close together. Quistis, Rinoa, and Ellone sat in the back row, each beginning to fall asleep on Quistis' shoulders, mostly because she was in the middle.

When they had reached the apartment, the guys had their hands full. Literally.

All of the women had fallen dead asleep. Not even a Lunar Cry could wake up any of the sleeping queens.

Irvine had already shuffled Selphie into his arms, gently lifting her up and out of the van. Zell had gently pried Ellone's sleep grip on Quistis and picked her up in his arms. All this of course was done under the ever icy gaze of Squall. Seifer had picked up Quistis in his arms and carried her quietly out. This left Rinoa curled up in a little ball on the end of the seat.

Squall sighed before having to carefully pick Rinoa up, seeing as how being carried up and into an elevator wearing a skirt can be quite distracting. Not only to you but anyone else around you.

He carried her noiselessly to the front door where the elevator was behind. The others were waiting impatiently for Squall to open the door.

"What?" he whispered. Carrying sleeping beauties was one thing, having to wake them up from their slumber was another. No one wants to face a sleeping beauty with morning breath.

Seifer motioned his head to the door, then his eyes were the keyhole was at.

Squall looked behind him, and down towards his back pocket. The other guys followed his eyes down to his back pocket and found the keys stuck inside. He looked around himself and saw that Seifer was smirking uncontrollably.

Squall mouthed his warning, "_Don't you even think about it."_

- - - - - - - - - -

The process of opening the door was a task, but getting them out of someone else's back pocket without giving them the wrong idea was a Herculean quest. No one dared to venture down towards Squall's rear end, knowing all to well what might happen to them if they touched something other than his keys.

Squall had then reached for his keys while standing on one foot. He had one knee up to prop up where Rinoa was being held, while he reached behind him for his keys and opened the front door that lead to the elevator.

Once the men had gotten off the elevator and into the loft, the next task was putting them all to bed. They had each laid the four maidens in their rooms to rest, Ellone being the one to take Squall's room, the four guys each sat in the living room, drinking some of the stuff that Squall had drank from earlier in the night.

"Shouldn't we like, make them more comfortable to sleep?" Irvine suggested. This earned some questioning gazes from everyone around him.

"You know, like, take off their clothes so they'd be more comfortable?"

Squall got up from his spot on the couch and passed by Irvine noiselessly. Irvine let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Squall filled his glass with more of the amber liquid before coming back past Irvine. That is before he planted a swift smack into the back of his head, knocking off his hat. He reached down to the floor had replaced his hat.

Seifer got up too, intending on refilling his empty glass, although this time a smack was planted on the front of his head, knocking his hat off again. Irvine grumbled in response.

"That answer your question for ya?" Zell asked, smiling like a simple minded idiot.

Irvine just shook his head in response.

"So Zell, how long have you been seeing my sister?" Squall asked. It was more demanding how he said it but it was still a question. Zell quickly hung his head.

"Um…about a month? Hehe…" Zell said silently.

Squall nodded his head slowly, sipping his drink equally slow.

"Hm. Well, I'm just going to let you know this. Once, and only once. You harm her in any way, I will slice and dice you and make your body parts into the hotdogs you so love to eat. I don't want to hear anything bad about you from her. Are we clear on that?"

Zell looked up from the floor, astonished at what he had just said.

Squall looked at him with a stern gaze.

Zell nodded his head like an eager school boy who just gotten a kiss from his crush.

"Good. Now that that is settled," he looked to Irvine, "when was last time you brought you head out of the gutters?"

- - - - - - - - - -

The night went by quickly for the four men. They had each finished their drinks and had fallen asleep on the large couches in the living room. Each their own thoughts before their minds found their way into dreams.

Irvine was fast asleep, his hat over his eyes and pillow firmly in his grip. One could only imagine what was going through his head.

Zell was lying down on the floor on the other side of Irvine, his head in his arms and a pillow underneath. He was mumbling something about hotdogs and contests.

Seifer was lying down on the couch above Zell, his grey jacket draped over him like a blanket. He had a smile on his face.

Squall was in the middle couch, his usual spot, and still in a sitting position. His head was hung over the edge and his eyes were closed. His face was placid, as it was on any other day.

His eyes suddenly flew open at the sound of a doorknob being worked on. His head went up and turned in the direction of the door, which had stopped making noise, but had now opened up to whoever was working the door. Squall quickly looked to the others, who were as wide awake as he was.

The door slid shut, a small click signifying its closing. Squall quickly closed his eyes, and others followed suit. Whoever was inside was going to get a very big surprise.

A black figure made its way through the kitchen, not touching anything that would make noise. It slowly made its way to the living room where the four young men were 'sleeping'.

When Squall sensed that it was close enough, he jumped up from his position on the couch and lunged over it and onto the intruder. A high pitched scream came out from the intruder, and Squall wrestled control of whoever it was.

Zell quickly ran to the lights and flicked them on. The women had come out of their rooms to see what the whole commotion was about. The men were all stunned at who Squall had pinned to the ground. Ellone had screamed as loud as the intruder, although hers was out of pure shock, not fright.

"Uncle---"

"Laguna!"

This was certainly a night to remember, if not forget.

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Well then, we finally get to see Laguna! Who knew that Laguna could scream like that? Well, if you were jumped on by someone you can't see in the dark you'd probably scream like a little girl too. I know it's a little blan on the romantic stuff, but it's needed to help build something up for a little something I have in mind. Oh well. I thought I'd leave it at this spot cuz I got some bad news fer yall. I have to leave soon, like a couple days soon. I won't be updating this story or my other for about 6 to 7 weeks. It's gonna little bit of a dry spell, but I know that you guys and gals can handle it. So for about 7 weeks, I will be out of the country and in the Philippines to celebrate my g-parents 50th anniversary. And to have a little time to myself. I will update as soon as I get back, so make sure you check those calendars of yours! Estd date of return is Jan 5. So be ready and waiting! See ya! Oh...R&R!


	8. Questions, Answers, & Burning?

A/N: Back from the dead and terrorizing the readers! HAHA! Get readin'!

Questions, Answers, & Burning Something…?

- - - - - - - - - -

Squall sat in the kitchen, drinking down a glass of whiskey he had poured from another bottle out of his stash hidden in the loft. It was his second glass in two minutes, for good reason.

His father, active president and resident idiot, Laguna Loire, had snuck into his apartment late at night, and had sent everyone into a relative panic. Until Zell had flicked the lights on just in time.

Ellone sat with her adoptive father on the couch, Zell sitting close beside her, helping her help him calm down after Squall's abrupt 'pounce' upon the unsuspecting man.

Squall had just finished inhaling his third glass of whiskey before he began his interrogation.

"So tell me again why you're here so late at night. And picking locks and entering people's homes without as much as a notice?"

Laguna looked up from the floor where he had kept his eyes glued for a most of the time.

"I was coming over for a surprise visit—"

"Big surprise..." Seifer interjected. Quistis slapped him on the arm hard enough to make him wince a little.

"What the hell was that for?"

Quistis glared at him with icy eyes. He looked away before she froze him where he stood. Its best to let sleeping dogs lie sometimes. And in Seifer's case, life saving.

Laguna returned to his interrupted explanation. "But no one was home when I came around. I had supposed that you had gone out and weren't going to come back for a while so I went around the town for a little bit."

He continued slowly, so as to place the story as he remembered it. "When I had come back I found the van that Squall drives in the parking garage so I thought that he was home."

"He apparently was, as were the rest of us…" Seifer added nonchalantly.

"Yeah but I didn't know that part. So I came up and tried to open the door, but it was locked. I assumed that he was asleep in his room, so I picked the lock and came in on my own."

"Be thankful I wasn't in my room at the time, or else I would've had a gunblade with me." Squall glared all seven gunblades through his eyes and through his father's thick skull.

Laguna could imagine and feel all of the gunblades in his son's possession sudden carve through his head. Although it wasn't a welcome feeling, it was reassuring to know his son didn't need foreign protection.

Although the two even hardly got along, they knew each other and what the other wanted when they wanted it. Even if Laguna wanted to spend time with his son, he knew that all Squall wanted was to be his own person, with a family or not. When Squall decided to join his family in something, Laguna never wasted the moment.

Quistis didn't find something right about Laguna, so she decided to voice her mind.

"Why would the president of the most powerful country be picking locks in his son's apartment? And how did you learn to pick locks in the first place?" It voiced similar thoughts running around in the group's heads.

Squall looked back over to his father for clarification.

"Well when you get locked out of your own bathroom in the morning while everyone is still asleep, you tend to get desperate."

"Are you saying that is what made you start picking locks?" Ellone asked with a dropped jaw. Laguna started scratching the back of his head nervously.

'_Crap! My leg's cramping up! Not now… Not now!'_ he thought rapidly.

Squall saw that his 'father' was acting more nervous than he usually was. It only meant one thing…

"Your leg's cramping up again…isn't it?"

- - - - - - - - - -

The rest of the night, or morning, depending on who you ask, went by rather quickly. Laguna sudden appearance and presence made Squall a little sour, seeing as how he was silent the rest of the time before going up to his room and bolting the door shut. Everyone could hear furniture being rearranged on the other side, more notably nearest the door.

The girls had retired back to their rooms after suddenly remembering the need for beauty sleep before work. The boys had each picked out spots on the sofa, Zell being the only one who slept on the floor of his own free will.

Laguna was also on the sofa, the only place he would be able to sleep without having to step on anyone's toes.

As everyone was getting to sleep in the own respective places, one solitary mind was wide awake.

- - - - - - - - - -

Squall shifted on his bed for the umpteenth time. He couldn't find a good position to get comfortable in his king size bed. He shifted around some more before giving up and sitting up.

He looked silently out his window, into the slowly growing morning. The black night was slowly becoming a lighter hue, until it eventually will become a bright red sunrise.

It had only been about 12 hours earlier that he had had what? Three attempts at kissing two different women? How much bad luck can one guy get in a matter of one day? Not to mention he had revealed that he was a heavy drinker on certain situations, more noticeably when the situation emphasized stress on his part. That and he had to share his hidden stash of 'goodies' with Seifer from now on.

He kept looking out the window. He noticed that several lights were on in the adjacent building. He thought of the people beginning to wake up and get ready to head off to whatever job they were going to.

He started to think about how his night was. He had started off his day cleaning off his gunblades, then he had begun to think about how two certain women were beginning to play certain roles in his life. First it was Quistis, with a Chinese noodle stuffed face. Then there was Rinoa, who had oh-so-innocently been dressed in a midnight black outfit.

Both had caught his attention, not only because they look damn good on their own, but they each had something that he had desired in a significant other. A sense of stability, the other a sense of spontaneity. Or however Xu had put it earlier.

He had a dilemma. Rinoa or Quistis. At least Seifer would help with Quistis. The guy had a type of infatuation with her, so it was easy territory. If Seifer kept Quistis occupied, he could deal with Rinoa. But then again he never really was that good with women.

Squall sighed heavily, the liquor he drank earlier beginning to take effect. Squall could be a heavy drinker, but when he drank, he usually became very sleepy afterwards. If Squall was a drunk, he was a sleepy drunk.

He sighed one more time before looking out his window to see the sun on its early rise. He turned to his bed and fell on it. He didn't care which direction he was pointing on that bed, he went out like a light.

As out like a light as it he could when the sun was bearing down on your face.

- - - - - - - - - -

Squall awoke a little later with a slight headache and a distinct smell running up his nose. He recognized that smell.

It was smoke.

Squall bounded out of bed and removed the large dresser that was against his door. He used that dresser for anti-Laguna purposes. Most notably to muffle out the sound of a knocking door and a screaming father telling you to come out of bed before he poured a pot of hot water on you.

'_If he could ever figure out how to boil water in the first place…'_ he thought wryly.

He removed the dresser from the door and opened it, only to be blasted in the face by grey smoke and the very easy smell of burnt something.

"Are you trying to burn down my place or what!" Squall yelled, not realizing at who he was yelling at. Or whom.

"Sorry! I forgot all about the bacon on the stove!" a feminine voice cried.

"Well then hurry up and get them off the stove!" a male voice cried back.

Squall's eyebrows had furrowed as he heard not one, but many voices in one area. He heard approximately seven different voices coming from the kitchen. He decided it would be best to try and figure out who was there by opening the windows and airing out the damn place before someone called the fire department.

As soon as Squall opened the window, the smoke flew out, thanks to the kinda high altitude of the apartment, and the fact that someone had turned on a fan.

When Squall turned back to the kitchen, he saw four women, three men, and one old man standing around like they all had their hands in the cookie jar.

"First things first: turn off the stove and step away from the kitchen." Squall said. He said it rather reasonably, but everyone else took it like there was a death sentence waiting for them if they didn't.

Quistis walked over to the stove and turned it off, moving the pan with ashes to the back burner. That must've been the bacon they were screaming about.

Squall shook his head before ushering them all out of the kitchen and surveying the catastrophe that had taken place.

Dishes were piled three times as high as the sink could carry, pans littered the area around the stove and oven, the trash was overflowing with Hyne-knows-what existed in this apartment, and everyone who were responsible was standing on the other side of the counter-island.

He gave them all a quick glare before reaching up into his not-so-hidden spot above the pan rack, pulling down a bottle of Captain Morgan's, popping the top and taking a quick swig. Although a swig in his case was a quarter bottle. And the bottle was big…very big.

As soon as he was done, he replaced the cap, replaced the bottle, grabbed a towel, draped it over his shoulder, took the apron that Seifer was wearing, much to his refusal, and walked back to the kitchen.

"Everyone out. You two included." He pointed at Ellone and Laguna.

"Come back in around," he looked at the clock above the cabinets, "one hour. Until then: Avoid. That. Door." He pointed to the loft door and quickly kicked everyone out.

One thought went through his head as he cracked his knuckles and his neck, along with the rest of his body: _'You want something done right, you have to do it yourself.'_

- - - - - - - - - -

One Hour Later

Seifer gently opened the door, not letting it make a squeak. His head peered around the door. No one was in sight, but something was off. It was quiet. Too quiet.

He brought his head back around the door and motioned for everyone to keep quiet. The others had stealthily crept through the door, each one tiptoeing as if their lives depended on it. When Ellone was through the door, she gently pushed it back into place, barely hearing the click the door made when it closed.

Seifer continued to creep around until he stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes went wide as if he had seen a Gold Chocobo. Quistis saw his expression and quickly went up to his side. She poked at his arm and took a glance at what he was staring at. Her jaw slackened to the point where she would like Zell on one occasion.

Speaking of Zell, he quickly crept over to where the other two blondes were. And his jaw slackened just like Quistis'.

Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, Laguna, and Ellone each made their way to see what everyone was staring at. What lay before them.

The whole apartment was clean. Pans in their places, the garbage empty, counters and stoves spotless. But there was something beyond that.

A long, rich wooden table was before them, simple wooden chairs situated around it. The table itself was nice to look at, but what was on it was much better to their eyes.

Plates of different kinds of eggs, scrambled, fried, or deviled. Sausage, ham, bacon, grits, hash browns, pancakes, biscuits, muffins. There was even a plate of steaks sitting next to the ham! A plate of hotdogs sat next to the grits. At the end of the table was a large bowl of various fruits ranging from apples to kiwis and an entire set of plates, with silverware attached, enough for everyone to have a pair in their possession.

Atop the set was a note propped up like a little pyramid. Seifer broke out of his reverie, and moved towards the note. This brought everyone out of their own drool pools and walked after him.

He grabbed the note and read it loud enough for everyone to hear.

_To the entourage that almost burned down my kitchen,_

_I regret to inform you that no one will be able to use that kitchen from now on. Only the microwave, refrigerator, and cabinets containing groceries and dishes will be available for use. The only time will anyone be able to use the stove or oven or any of the cookware, will be when I am available and willing to give supervision to the proper use of such items and utensils. If you feel as though you do not apply to this, think again. You are in my apartment, using my stuff, eating my food. You are in my good graces to even be here. I will not hesitate to use you to polish my gunblades. This little table of food I put together is so that you will not use my kitchen to burn down my apartment again. So enjoy and do not use my kitchen._

_Squall_

Seifer put down the note beside the stack of plates before shrugging and grabbing a plate and started spooning and forking food onto his plate. The others followed suit, each grabbing plates, although Zell just grabbed the whole plate of hotdogs and started wolfing them down.

Ellone set down her plate and walked up to her brother's room, stopping because she noticed the door was slightly open. She peered inside to see Squall sleeping on his bed, face towards the window. She pulled his door closed, but not before she thanked him.

Squall sighed in his sleep, "Your welcome."

A/N: Longlonglonglonglonglonglonglonglong overdue chapter I know. I'm late, but better late then never eh? I will be beginning to update like I usually did, now that I have found a solid source of inspiration nowadays. She knows who she is, so it's all gravy. Until next update! Read something else.


	9. Midnight Excursions

A/N: Sorry about the lag in updating thingys, but you know the traditional deal with lag. School, work, over-agitated parental units…the usual in a blossoming teen's life. XD. But anyways…on with the story!

Midnight Excursions

- - - - - - - - - -

The time was approximately 1:09 in the morning, Deling Western Time.

The date was unknown, because no one bothered to put up a calendar.

The place was the residence of Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, Quistis Trepe, and Selphie Tilmitt.

But the only one up at the time was Squall.

He had awoken in the middle of the night because the Call of Nature couldn't be put on damn hold till the sun came up and bothered the hell out of everyone. So he had to linger on his own, in the middle of the night, clad in his blue chocobo clad boxers. The little devils had the words 'Wark!' written all over the damn place.

If Squall could, he'd cut a hole in everyone of his chocobo boxers to remove the sickeningly cute bastards, but then he'd have to go shopping for a whole new wardrobe of underwear. Not to mention that he would have to go commando for a few days. So he decided that he could live with the little cretins if no one saw them.

As the half-asleep, half-naked Squall walked to his room, yes he was half-naked, he had the distinct feeling that someone was watching him. He turned his eyes towards the section of apartment that held his three roommates.

Icy blue orbs met his. Although this set of blue eyes was jagged with redness. One would think she just came out of a smoke shack. She continued to gaze into eyes until he sighed and continued his trek towards the stairs to his room.

"Squall?" she called. It was loud enough for him to hear, but low enough so as not to disturb the others still asleep.

He slowed to a halt in front of the stairs to his room. He looked up the stairs, secretly longing that he was hearing things and that the blue chocobos on his boxers were to blame, but then again he didn't want to leave Quistis standing there like an idiot.

He turned towards her and met her gaze, only to see the top of her head. She was silently shaking. He lowered his head so that he could see her face, but she turned away before he could decipher the cause of her shaking. When he heard a stifled snort, the jig was up.

"What in the hell are laughing at?" he queried.

"_Blue_ chocobos?" she snorted out, barely able to keep her laughter in check. If she could laugh as loud as she wanted to right now, she would wake up the whole damn neighborhood along with any nearby countries.

Squall looked down onto his boxers, noting the blue devils that littered them. He looked back up towards Quistis, who was trying her damnedest not to laugh her ass off and wake up some other roommates.

But she didn't notice was that one of them was already up.

Selphie had cautiously hidden herself behind the corner of the hallway, closely watching the interaction of Quistis and Squall with much amusement.

Quistis had finally managed to stifle her laughing, but still retaining a brilliant smile. Well that's what Squall thought anyways. He couldn't place it, but he could feel a sort of radiance from her smile, even if it was as dark as the insides of a chocobo's ass. He could also pinpoint exactly where her eyes were looking.

Straight into his.

Quistis felt her heart rising up into her throat, a solid lump being formed there. She swallowed once, an audible gulp being heard only by those present. His eyes were locked onto hers, and she was unable to tear away from them. He held her with only a look. Until his hand slowly snaked around her slender waist.

Squall had no idea what he was doing. At first he couldn't stop staring at the woman, now he was putting his arm around her? What in Hyne's name did those damn blue chocobos on his underwear do to make him deserve this!

Selphie watched with a piqued interest as Squall had managed to get not only one, but TWO arms around Quistis' figure. The only other thing that was on her mind at the moment was why she didn't have a video camera to record all this.

Quistis was at a severe loss for words. She had no idea what Squall was doing, but yet she wasn't about to object either. She wanted to say something, and when she opened her mouth to say it, nothing came out. The only thing that was happening was the look that was on her face, a mixture of shock, joy, and longing.

Squall knew she wanted to say something, otherwise her mouth wouldn't be hanging precariously open and her looking like a damn trout. So he did the next best thing that would cause her to stop thinking and keep her mouth shut…in a sense.

He kissed her.

If Selphie's jaw could have hit the floor, it would've gone through all the remaining floors in the whole building. Her jaw was gaping, and one could see a tad bit of drool hanging beginning to drip from that jaw.

'_Why in HYNE didn't I have a camera?'_

A little further down the hall, one could see a shadow move from the doorway to the room that belonged to one Rinoa Heartilly.

- - - - - - - - - -

The time was approximately 8:08 in the morning, Deling Western Time.

The date was unknown, but no one really cared what day it was as long as it was over quick.

The place was the residence of Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, Quistis Trepe, and Selphie Tilmitt.

Everyone was up now, although they were all in various states of undress and bed riddance.

Selphie was going bonkers out of her mind wondering where she was going to get a camera to record her thoughts and to catch any other suspicious 'dealings' in the night.

Quistis was wide awake, staring at the ceiling above her, which doubled as the floor to a certain brown-haired, blue-eyed hottie of epic proportions. Homer didn't have anything on him! And why oh why was she kissed the way she was earlier in the morning.

She couldn't figure out why, but she was damn glad that she actually got kissed!

Rinoa meanwhile lay on her side, staring out the window that faced into the city. Her eyes were sullen, but she couldn't figure out why. She knew she had some type of feelings for the man residing above her in another room, but she thought of them only as friendly feelings, not feelings that deserve or warrant jealousy.

She rolled over on her other side, tired of looking out the window. She continued to think, just like Squall was doing right above her.

His eyes were scanning the horizon, watching the sun continue its rise into the sky. His mind wandered back to the event earlier in the morning. He continually pressured his mind in trying to find a reason as to why he did what he did, and why he had kissed her in that way.

He remembered at that point in time that telling someone to shut up was to block their mouth with something. His lips and tongue had to suffice.

And she did not mind at all. She was on the verge of saying something, but the taste of his lips was more than enough to shut her up and take a quick vow of silence.

Her mind raced with the thoughts and feelings that were acting as if the Deling International Speedway were their natural home.

Selphie however was still moping around as to why she didn't have a camera in the direst of needs. _'It was the perfect opportunity for blackmail!'_

Rinoa though managed to get out of bed and put an extremely large white shirt on. Large enough to fit all three women inside plus some storage room. Even if she was not there, in a mental sense, she wasn't going to go around moping all day. She was going to do her best in looking like normal.

'_Psh. Yeah right…'_

As she was walking out of her room and making her way towards the kitchen, she heard an unfamiliar tune playing on what she thought to be a piano.

She forgot everything about what she supposed to do for the day, and went instead to follow the sound of the beautiful music coming into her ears. She found herself slowly walking up the stairs to Squall's room.

She noticed the door was open, a change from what it usually was, dead-bolted and dresser-reinforced.

She peered in to find Squall sitting alone next to his bed, playing on a piano that was cleverly hidden inside the wall of his room. Even if it was electronic, it sounded as good as a normal piano.

He was playing a soft melody, one she knew of, but forgot the name of it.

She noticed his eyes slowly going over the keys, his hands playing over the keyboard effortlessly. It was when he stopped and looked at her dead in the eye was when she broke out of silent reverie.

His blue-grey eyes almost piercing her heart and looking straight into her soul. That was what she felt like of course. But what she and the other think is never what he is thinking.

'_What the hell is that woman doing in my room without permission!'_

"May I help you find a quick and painless way out of here? Or have you forgotten that you live here as well?" he asked abruptly, no sign of emotion in his voice, other than the one of dripping sarcasm.

"No, nono, I was just listening to you play. It was very beautiful. Where'd you learn to play like that?" she asked quietly.

"From my mother. She always played the piano when I was thinking about things. So it helps me think."

He stood from his seat and silently walked to the window, crossing his arms and focusing his gaze to somewhere out on his left.

She looked at him with curious eyes, and when she was about to ask him where his mother is, she thought better of it and decided to keep it to herself. But he had also wanted to ask something of her. Well, not ask but to clarify.

"So you saw me and…um, Quistis last night eh?" His gaze was still focused on something to his left, but in truth his gaze was fixed on the reflection of Rinoa. He watched hang her head down a bit and noticed her foot beginning to trace circles in the floor.

While her foot traced circles in the floor, her mind began racing with thoughts of how he noticed her and why he was bringing up something like this.

But what raced through Squall's mind was how in the hell he was able to say something like that to anyone other than his sister.

'_What in the hell is wrong with me these days! First I'm kissing people for absolutely no reason, now I'm revealing oh so important factors in my life! WTF?'_

His left eye managed to twitch a little with that last comment and hoped that Rinoa didn't manage to see it. He looked back at her to see her still tracing a circle on the floor below her.

"Are you going to burn a circle into my floor or are you actually going to say something?"

She lifted her head at his comment and blushed furiously. She felt like the heat from her cheeks would melt her face off. But that was before she started to feel a tad bit woozy.

He noticed her balance beginning to waver and a very brief look of worry crossed his features. She started to swoon side to side, until of course gravity took its natural course and planted her head into the floor. And when I say planted, I mean planted.

Squall looked over her fallen body once, before beginning to move to pick her up off his floor before she actually grew roots. But when he picked her up he noticed something.

She had pink chocobo spotted underwear on.

Squall could feel a slight warmth in his face, and a smile working its way onto his features. But he steeled his features and prevented that smile from getting to his mouth. The only way that he would allow such a smile to grace and blemish his features would be to take a stick of dynamite and blow it on there.

But there wasn't any dynamite lying around so the smile would have to try another day.

He walked over to his bed, Rinoa snug in his arms, and began to place her gently into his just made bed. He cursed the fact that he had to mess up his bed just to accommodate a fainting woman, but there was a part of him that actually didn't mind.

Once he felt that she was in a comfortable position, he walked back over to the window and resumed his gaze into the city that was his home.

He heard the door whoosh open and turned quickly around to metaphorically bite the head off the person who dared entered his lair without permission, but his head biting would have to wait.

His mouth tried to form words, but none would come.

There she was, the woman he had kissed earlier that morning, with the most shocked look upon her face. She looked at Squall with questioning and death-dealing eyes.

This guy had some explaining to do.

Squall placed his face in his right hand, praying to Hyne that he would be allowed to jump through the window.

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Phhhbbbttt! 


End file.
